Doctors on strike in Nigeria over kidnapped colleague

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

The mother of five was taken from her home in the middle of the night on December 27, along with her husband and a cousin.

Her husband was released in March after a ransom was paid, but the kidnappers kept the ophthalmologist and her relative.

The doctors say they will not even provide emergency care during the strike.

They believe that the security services are not doing enough to ensure Dr. Poopola’s freedom.

President of the doctors’ association Dr Dele Abdullahi told the BBC: “It has been eight months of suffering for her, her family and her colleagues. The lives of doctors should matter to Nigerians,” adding that if nothing changes they would call an indefinite strike.

Her colleague Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Okpanaki said doctors were “demoralised and terrified. In a country where medical staff are leaving, those who have chosen to stay should be protected.”

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

He described her as a very dedicated, professional and responsible family woman.

When she was abducted, she was still breastfeeding her youngest child.

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

According to experts, the hospital’s location on the outskirts of Kaduna city makes it an easy target for kidnappers.

Her house was close to the hospital.

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

Dr Poopola’s kidnappers are demanding 40 million naira (£19,000; $25,000) for their release.

Although a controversial law criminalizing the payment of ransom came into effect in 2022, ransoms are still often paid by relatives eager to free their loved ones.

The law provides for a minimum prison sentence of 15 years for anyone who pays a ransom, but no one has been convicted yet.

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

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

Dr Abdullahi told the BBC that “the family initially explored a diplomatic route but they have now given us permission to explore other options”.

Kidnapping has become widespread in Nigeria in recent years, with hundreds of people abducted, largely by criminal gangs who see it as an easy way to make money. It is particularly bad in the northwest of the country.

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