Resident Doctors under the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have initiated a nationwide warning strike in response to the prolonged captivity of their colleague, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola.
This withdrawal of services has left patients reliant on a limited number of available Consultants, as Resident Doctors, who make up the majority of medical personnel in healthcare facilities, have stepped down.
According to NARD, Dr. Popoola, a Registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was kidnapped on December 27, 2023, along with her husband and nephew. While her husband was released in March, Dr. Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.
NARD President, Dr. Dele Abdullahi, announced that the warning strike will last seven days, aiming to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s and security agencies’ failure to rescue their colleague, who has been held captive for nearly eight months.
Dr. Abdullahi emphasized that the strike will be comprehensive, with no emergency care or concessions provided during this period. He noted that the association had previously organized protests in all tertiary hospitals across the nation to demand Dr. Popoola’s release, but the lack of progress has led to this decision to temporarily halt services nationwide.
As a result, Nigerians seeking medical attention at public healthcare facilities are experiencing significant challenges, with only Consultant doctors providing limited services in hospitals across Abuja and other regions.
Some doctors, out of compassion, have pledged to offer telemedicine services to their patients, while others have decided to stay away from hospital facilities until the warning strike concludes.
