NMA threatens strike as ‘patient’s relatives kill’ doctor in Delta hospital

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has condemned the alleged killing of Uyi Iluobe, a Delta-based doctor, by aggrieved relatives of a patient.

The incident is said to have occurred on Saturday in Oghara, Delta state.

In a statement signed by Uche Ojinmah, NMA president, the association said it received news of the murder “with shock and sadness”.

The NMA said the attack on the doctor, by relatives of a patient who died from suspected gunshot injuries, can never be justified.

The association added that the attackers have now taken violence against doctors and other healthcare workers from injuries to murder.

“It is unbelievable that in the face of a debilitating medical brain drain, the few doctors that patriotically decided to stay back and take care of our fellow citizens are being murdered by same Nigerians,” the statement reads.

“While we sympathise with the family of the patient that was lost, we strongly condemn this murder and call on the Government of Delta State, and the Inspector-General of Police to, as a matter of urgency, to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book so as to assuage the pain we feel. A man should not be murdered for the selfless act of being on duty on New Year’s Eve.”

Meanwhile, the south-south zone of the NMA said it is working with the Delta state branch to unravel the circumstances behind the incident.

It called on security agencies to step up their efforts to arrest the perpetrators within five days, after which the association will not be able to guarantee the rendering of normal medical services in the south-south zone.

The association also resolved that members of all NMA state branches in the zone should henceforth put on black armbands as a sign of mourning and that a press conference should be held in Delta on Wednesday.

It added that a one-week total shutdown of hospitals in Delta state would commence after the press conference.

“If the law enforcement agencies do not fish out the murderers of our colleague at the expiration of one week, the whole states in South-South zone of NMA will down tools,” the communique reads.