By Abiola Olawale
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has commenced a nationwide 7-day warning strike as of Monday, August 26, 2024.
The nationwide warning strike, according to NARD, is in response to the prolonged abduction of one of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.
The NARD’s National Executive Council (NEC), recently rose from an emergency meeting with a resolve to embark on the warning strike in order to make their grievances known about what they described as a “dire situation.”
President of NARD, Dr Dele Abdullahi, had announced that the strike is in direct response to the kidnapping of Dr Popoola, who has been held captive for eight months.
The New Diplomat reports that Gbat Popoola, a registrar at the National Eye Centre in Kaduna, was abducted on December 27, 2023, along with her husband and nephew during a raid on the hospital’s staff quarters by armed bandits.
While her husband was released in March due to his deteriorating health, Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity, raising serious concerns within the medical community.
Similarly, the warning strike comes after twenty medical students were kidnapped on August 15, 2024, while travelling for the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students’ annual convention in Enugu.
However, the Nigerian police have successfully secured the release of the twenty medical students.
