The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened to embark on nationwide industrial action over what it describes as incessant assaults and attacks on doctors in medical facilities across the country. According to NARD, the recurring assaults on healthcare workers in Nigeria have become intolerable, unacceptable, and dangerous to the survival of the nation's healthcare system.
The development follows an attack on a doctor at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, and its Akure Annex in the state capital. The attack was carried out by the wife of a patient and some suspected thugs. The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the health facilities subsequently declared a 72-hour warning strike, which has crippled medical services at the medical center, leaving many patients stranded.
The doctors insisted that the perpetrators must be arrested and that the porous security at the medical center must be addressed. In a statement issued by ARD FMC Owo and signed by its President, Dr. Adeola Oluwadamilola, and General Secretary, Dr. Dare Aderemi, the association expressed concern over the incident, describing it as a recurring problem. The statement noted that the ARD convened an Emergency General Meeting on May 30, 2026, due to the assault on a doctor on call at the Akure Annex. The doctor was slapped several times and manhandled by the patient's wife and the patient himself. The statement highlighted that assault on doctors has become a recurring decimal, as this is the second such incident this year.
In line with NARD protocol, the congress declared a 72-hour total strike beginning at 8 am on May 31, 2026. The strike will be reviewed only when adequate armed security is provided at the hospital and its annexes, the assailants have been arrested, and the assailant makes a public apology in a national daily of repute and pays damages to the assaulted doctor.
NARD, in a separate statement signed by its President, Dr. Mohammed Usman Sulaiman, and Secretary General, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, stressed that even more disturbing were reports that the assailants allegedly invited thugs to further brutalize the doctor. Fortunately, the doctor was swiftly taken to a secure location. The thugs reportedly issued open threats to attack him anywhere he is seen, having recognized his face. NARD unequivocally condemned this criminal, cowardly, and utterly reprehensible act.
NARD stated that it will no longer fold its arms while doctors are treated like criminals in the very institutions where they serve humanity. Consequently, the leadership of NARD fully supports the 72-hour warning strike declared by ARD FMC Owo. NARD also placed on record that the threats issued against their member are taken with utmost seriousness. Should any harm come to him, directly or indirectly, the identified assailants and all parties connected to these threats must be held fully responsible.
NARD called on the management of FMC Owo, the Ondo State Government, the Federal Ministry of Health, security agencies, and all relevant authorities to act swiftly, decisively, and responsibly. Continued silence, negligence, or delayed response only emboldens perpetrators and further endangers healthcare workers across the country.
