Ogun Doctors Begin Strike Over Assault On Colleague
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Ogun State chapter, has directed its members to embark on strike over “growing threat” to the safety of healthcare workers.
It spoke in a statement issued on Tuesday by its president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman.
A female house officer of Olabisi Olabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, was reportedly attacked by seven men alleged to be students of Gateway ICT Polytechnic Saapade.
The young doctor was said to have been singled out and brutally attacked after being identified as part of the team that attended to a patient who later died at the Accident and Emergency unit.
The association said the incident goes beyond a singular act of violence and reflects deeper institutional and security failures within Nigeria’s health sector.
“NARD expressed strongest outrage and unequivocal condemnation” of the attack, describing it as “shocking and barbaric,” and a “gross violation of human dignity, professional sanctity, and the safety of healthcare workers.
“This horrifying incident, reportedly carried out by a group of about seven men alleged to be students of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, represents a gross violation,” NARD said.
“Hospitals are sanctuaries of healing, not battlegrounds of violence,” the statement read.
It added that it is deeply disturbing that doctors, who continue to render selfless service under challenging conditions, including delayed remuneration and overwhelming workloads, are now subjected to physical harm while discharging their duties.
“The situation strikes at the very heart of our healthcare system” and requires “firm and decisive action,” NARD said.
NARD outlined immediate steps taken in response to the incident, including directing its members at OOUTH Sagamu to withdraw their services.
“In line with our zero-tolerance stance on assaults against our members, all NARD members at OOUTH Sagamu, including House Officers, are hereby directed to embark on an immediate withdrawal of services until safety assurances are guaranteed,” NARD said.
It also demanded identification, arrest, and prosecution of all individuals involved, insisting that “justice NARD further placed responsibility on institutional authorities, urging the management of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, to collaborate with security agencies to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and appropriately sanctioned.”
The association also called on the management of OOUTH Sagamu to overhaul and reinforce the security architecture within the hospital premises, stressing the need for proactive measures to prevent a recurrence and to address welfare concerns affecting doctors.
“Failure to meet these demands promptly will compel escalation to a regional and national industrial dispute,” the association warned.
Ogun Doctors Begin Strike Over Assault On Colleague is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
