On Sunday, doctors in Cross River took a unanimous decision to commence a complete and indefinite strike as a show of solidarity with one of their colleagues who was abducted from her residence in Calabar on Thursday.
This decision was reached during “The State government should activate all necessary instruments at its disposal to ensure the timely and unconditional release of our member in the hands of her abductors.”g an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) held in Calabar, as stated in a communiqué signed by Dr. Felix Archibong, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Cross River branch.
The incident occurred on July 13 when Dr. Ekanem Ephraim, a medical practitioner affiliated with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), was kidnapped by armed individuals who posed as patients at approximately 7:30 p.m. Despite the doctors’ persistent efforts to secure her release, Dr. Ephraim remains in captivity.
Consequently, the association has resolved to take the following actions:
“To embark on a total and indefinite withdrawal of medical services effective immediately in solidarity with our member still in the hands of her abductors.
“This withdrawal of medical service will involve all hospitals in the state, federal, state, private, and Mission.
“The State government should activate all necessary instruments at its disposal to ensure our member’s timely and unconditional release from the hands of her abductors.”
The doctors acknowledged that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River was aware of the difficulties that the withdrawal of their services would impose on the citizens. However, they appealed to the appropriate security agencies to expedite the release of their abducted colleague. As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that this is not the first time the association has resorted to a strike in response to the abduction of its member in Cross River.
