From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Last Friday, 20 student doctors and a house officer from the University of Maiduguri and the University of Jos, who were kidnapped on August 15 in Otukpo, along the Otukpo-Enugu road in Benue State, were released. The kidnapping, which took place by 5:30pm that faithful day, left the state, relatives, friends and the school community in grief and panic mode.
The victims were on their way to the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students’ annual convention in Enugu State when they were ambushed, abducted and herded into the bush.
Police public relations officer, SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the kidnap in Makurdi. She said the students were travelling together in two buses when they were intercepted by some criminal elements after Otukpo town and taken to an unknown destination.
The following day, the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students released the full names of the victims as Boniface Tizhe, Thomas Yahaya, Gabriel Jita Iwev, Boniface Okon, Dondo Fabian, John Bitrus Naga, Fortune Chima Umeh, Godwin Gregory Tumba, Monica Ejembi and Ogbonna George Chukwuebuka.
Others were Paul Nyampa Zira, Lawrence Victory Adaugo, Okopi Peter, Enger Benedicta, Kwaghaondo Aondona Kingsley, Paul Shantong, Victoria Cornelius, Pius Samson, Okan Adara and Dr. Luis Mbamonyeukwu, the house officer.
A few days later, one of the students, Kwaghaondo Aondona Kingsley, reportedly manoeuvred his phone and alerted the public by posting a Save Our Soul (SOS) message on his X account, saying the students had been without food for days, and called on government and families to intervene for their release.
According to the post, the kidnappers requested for N50 million as ransom for their release.
“Please help us, we haven’t eaten for two days. Contact Pius at 08163420157, he is coordinating the funds. They said they would start killing us tomorrow,” the poster was quoted to have said.
For doctors, it was one kidnap too many as they have become endangered species, or so it seems.
On July 23, 2023, Dr. Asema Msuega, a dedicated and selfless medical doctor in charge of General Hospital in Ukum Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, was kidnapped alongside one other person by gunmen while in the line of duty. He was kidnapped on his way to supervise a malaria programme at a primary health centre in Ukum LGA.
In a statement signed by the chairman, secretary and public relations officer of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Benue State branch, Ushakuma Anenga, Dr. Ameh Godwin and Dr. Mark Ogbodo, respectively, the group said Asema was the only doctor at General Hospital, Sankera, where he devoted himself to the service of the people for several years.
While the association appealed to Gov. Hyacinth Alia, the Tor Tiv, sons and daughters of good conscience to take proactive actions to curtail the trend, Anenga said: “This pattern cannot be ignored, as it now seems like doctors, who have given their lives to the service of humanity, are being targeted for kidnap in the state.”
During the period the doctor was in captivity, the Nigerian Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners, (NAGGMDP), Benue State, went on strike to register their grievances and, in solidarity, the state NMA called for justice for Dr. Asema Msuega.
They warned that, if Asema continued to be held in captivity, they could not in good conscience continue rendering their vital services while their colleague endures unimaginable suffering in the clutches of heartless kidnappers.
The association also urged government to reinforce security measures around health facilities across the state, especially in areas that have become breeding grounds for heinous crimes, saying: “The safety of our health workers is not negotiable; it is a fundamental right that must be preserved at all costs.”
Msuega stayed for 25 days in captivity before he regained freedom.
Similarly, a medical doctor with the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Makurdi, Obadiah Etito, was kidnapped on May 13, 2023, in Ukum. He was abducted on his way to Taraba State and taken to an unknown destination, after which his kidnappers opened discussion with his family and demanded N40 million before he would be released.
Etito was rescued by the Benue State Police Command alongside nine other victims, while some of the suspected kidnappers were arrested.
Narrating his ordeal, Etito told newsmen how his abductors tortured him to the point that he could no longer feel anything in his legs.
He said: “On getting to Zaki Biam, in Ukum LGA, we missed our way and needed direction. As we just turned, we saw a motorcycle with three boys, each of them with AK47 rifles and two others came again, with AK47 rifles, and the next thing we saw five others came with AK47 rifles.
“The next thing, they pushed my driver out, took my wallet, ID cards and phones. They blindfolded us and we drove for more than 20 kilometres. We did not know where we were going. They drove from 3pm till night and when it was dark, they dropped us in an unknown place.
“Two of us were kept in one house and they starting beating us. They beat us so much that, at a point, I didn’t know whether my legs were functioning again. I almost lost hope of being rescued.”
He and the others were rescued on May 22, 2023, by a team of Operation Zenda, a joint task force then led by CSP Justin Gberindyer, under the then leadership of CP Okoro Julius Alawari, after they trailed the kidnappers to their hideout at Gaya Village, Utange council ward, in Kastina Ala LGA of the state.
Also, on the night of November 22, 2022, gun-wielding men adducted another medical doctor, Alex Igyemwase, and his son in Zaki Biam. It was reported that the doctor, the medical director of Hope Maternity Hospital in Zaki Biam, and his son were adducted from his residence opposite NKST Secondary School, Zaki Biam, about 8pm. While the son was later released unhurt, the doctor’s whereabouts remained unknown, sending shivers down the spines his family members
The doctor’s brother, who confirmed his kidnap then, Mr. Peter Igyemwase, narrated the traumatic experience of how four gunmen picked his brother and how they called his number for days without success. The medical doctor was, however, rescued by security operatives of the Benue State Police Command after spending several days in captivity.
On November 15, 2019, another medical doctor, Emmanuel Orhember of Baiki Hospital, in Gboko LGA of Benue State, was abducted by kidnappers.
After three days in captivity, police public relations officer in the state, Catherine Anene, a superintendent of police, told newsmen at the command headquarters in Makurdi that the police elite squad of Operation Zenda found and rescued him.
According to her, Dr. Orhember was rescued from kidnappers in Mbayion forest in Gboko by Operation Zenda, led by SP Justin Gberindyer, who engaged the kidnappers in a gun duel, killing three of the kidnappers, while others fled with bullet wounds.
Orhember, who spoke to newsmen after being rescued, narrated that the gunmen storm his house and took him away blindfolded and kept him for three days. He said he was lying on the ground and was constantly being beaten, his head bruised with iron rods. He was shot in his ankle and leg by one of the gunmen who insisted that he should provide money, which he said he didn’t have.
He gave glory to God that the police came to rescue him, saying he remained thankful to them.
Daily Sun reports that the kidnap of doctors is not limited to Benue State, as their counterparts in other states of the country are also endangered.
Recently, medical doctors at the FMC, Makurdi, joined in the protest over the abduction of their colleague, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, who was kidnapped in Kaduna State sometime in December 2023.
President, Association of Resident Doctors, FMC Makurdi, Dr. Fanen Dogoh, in a chat with our correspondent, explained that the protest was about their colleague, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, who worked at the National Eye Care Centre.
According to him, she was kidnapped alongside her husband and nephew. Eventually, the jidnappers released the husband but their colleague is still in captivity with the nephew.
Dogoh, who is also the secretary of Nigeria Medical Association, Benue State branch, lamented that “she has been with the kidnappers for about seven months and 20 days.
“We have tried to engage with the security but nothing was happening and that was why we decided to stage the protest to draw attention to it.”
While decrying the incessant kidnap of doctors in the country, Dogoh said: “This is not the first time our colleague is being kidnapped, we have had other cases.
“I don’t have the figures of our colleagues kidnapped but the ones that comes to mind were D Asema Msuega, Dr Obadiah Etito, Agogo Baki and some others that I can’t remember now.
“There was a Professor of Medicine kidnapped in Cross River State last year and up till now we have not heard anything from her. They paid a lot of money for ransom but we didn’t see her, nor her body. So, we don’t even know whether she is dead or alive.”
The ARD president said insecurity, especially the regular kidnap of doctors was one of the reasons most doctors are leaving the country.
He said: “It’s not just only about the pay. Here in Nigeria, doctors have become endangered species. Even in Plateau State, there was a kidnap of two doctors and their families on two different occasions.
“Doctors are being kidnapped in Jos, Plateau State, in Benue State, in Kaduna State and some in the northern states and we pay huge sums of money for them to be released.
“In the case of this our colleague from Kaduna, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, we are suspecting that the kidnappers probably use some of the doctors to treat themselves and their victims in their camp and that may be one of the reasons they don’t want to release her.”
He lamented further that money has been paid in millions of naira and yet she has not been released. “It’s a very pathetic and stressful situation we have found ourselves.
“You are working everyday, you cannot guarantee your security. You can’t guarantee welfare, the working situations are very stressful, it’s terrible.
“Our doctors are leaving the country and I can tell you the reason. Renumeration is one, working conditions is two and welfare is three. Then security is one of the key reasons.
“If someone like Dr Ganiyat is released right now, I don’t think she would want to work here again because she would be going through post traumatic stress disorder. Even her colleagues who are in the same institution would be scared because if they can just move into a doctor’s quarters and kidnap a doctor, they don’t know who is next.
“People have to sell their houses, sell their cars, borrow money from friends and relatives to pay ransom. After that experience, who wants to be here?
“Few days ago, they just kidnapped our students. After that experience, when they come out and finish school, who wants to practice in Nigeria?”
“I have colleagues abroad that told me categorically that insecurity is one of the major reasons they left. This is disheartening. This is one kidnap of doctors too many. It is unfortunate that doctors have become endangered species in a place where they give their all in service to humanity.
“Dr Baki, for instance, had a big private hospital in Gboko where he was even treating people almost free of charge but he was kidnapped. He is an elderly person; another doctor who works at Mkar was kidnapped. These are very senior people both in age and in the profession. He has treated a lot of people for free and instead of appreciating him, they kidnapped him.”
Dogoh appealed to the federal and state governments to rise up to their primary responsibility of securing lives and property of Nigerians so that everyone, including doctors can go about their legitimate businesses without fear of molestation of any kind.
He insisted that “this issue of security should be taken very serious. If we continue the way we are doing, we are going to end up with a bad situation in the country.
“The president must wake up to his responsibility of protecting lives and property. Why are they kidnapping doctors? It’s not like we have the money. If we don’t have money and our wives don’t have, is it our children that will pay? It’s bad that we are working for society, being patriotic to the nation but people don’t appreciate it. It’s sad. Government must do their part to protect the people.”