Lara Adejoro, Abuja
Members of the Association of Resident Doctors at the National Hospital in Abuja staged a peaceful protest on Monday following the kidnap of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who has remained in captivity for 236 days.
Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was abducted on December 27, 2023, alongside her husband and nephew.
While her husband was released in March, Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.
Meanwhile, the national body of resident doctors, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors notified the Nigerian Medical Association, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the Kaduna State Government about the incident.
It has also written several letters to security agencies, the federal government, and the Kaduna State Government, but has seen “no significant action.”
During the protest on Monday at the hospital premises, the doctors requested the release of their colleague and carried placards.
Some placards read, ‘Free Dr Ganiyat Popoola, help bring Ganiyat home safely,’ ‘Rescue Dr Ganiyat now,’ ‘Please, help bring Dr Ganiyat home,’ ‘Injury to one is an injury to all,’ and ‘Doctors are crying, help us save her.’
Speaking with our correspondent, the ARD President at the hospital, Dr Lanre-Aremo Babajide, said the doctors would embark on an indefinite strike on August 26, 2024, if Popoola was not rescued.
Babajide implored the authorities to intensify their efforts to rescue Popoola, adding that every second she remained in captivity was a second too long.
“Our demand is simple, we want the government to intervene and get our colleague, Dr Popoola out of captivity. We are calling on the Federal Government, the security chiefs, and the National Security Advisor to intervene and get her out.
“There are people trained in rescuing abducted captives, so they should act immediately, and if she’s not rescued by August 26, we will embark on an indefinite strike as directed by our national body, NARD.
“We are aware that there are government negotiators, we are not saying that it is the government that kidnapped her, but we know that there are government negotiators, and they have been doing that, so we are calling on the government to intervene now.”
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