Nigerian doctors go on strike after colleague kidnapped

Doctors at Nigeria’s public hospitals have begun a seven-day nationwide strike to demand the release of their colleague Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who has been held captive by kidnappers for eight months.

The mother of five was taken from her home along with her husband and nephew at midnight on December 27.

Her husband was reportedly released in March after a ransom was paid, but the kidnappers are still holding the ophthalmologist and her relatives.

Doctors said they would not even provide emergency care during the strike.

They believe that the security agencies have not done enough to ensure Dr Poopola’s freedom.

“It has been eight months of agony for her, her family and her colleagues. The lives of doctors should be of concern to the Nigerian people,” Dr Dele Abdullahi, president of the Doctors Association, told the BBC, adding that if nothing changes they will declare an indefinite strike.

Her colleague, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Okpanaki, said doctors were “demoralised and frightened. In a country where health workers are leaving in droves, those who choose to stay should be protected.”

Dr Okpanaki said Dr Poopola started working at the National Central Eye Hospital about six years ago.

He described her as a very dedicated career woman and a woman who took care of her family.

She was still breastfeeding her youngest child when she was abducted.

The hospital in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, is one of the largest eye hospitals in the country.

Experts say the hospital, located on the outskirts of Kaduna city, is an easy target for kidnappers.

Her home is near the hospital.

In 2021, dozens of students were taken away from the nearby Forestry College.

Dr Puppola’s kidnappers demanded 40 million naira (£19,000; $25,000) as a release fee.

Although a controversial law criminalizing the payment of ransom came into effect in 2022, it is often paid by relatives desperate to free their loved ones.

Under the law, anyone who pays the ransom will be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison, although no one has yet been convicted.

The government has not yet commented on the strike or the doctors’ situation.

Dr. Popoola’s husband declined requests to speak to the media.

Dr Abdullahi told the BBC: “Our family initially wanted a diplomatic solution, but now they have allowed us to explore other options.”

Kidnappings have been common in Nigeria in recent years, with hundreds of people kidnapped, mostly by criminal gangs who see kidnapping as a quick way to make money. The situation is particularly bad in the northwest of the country.