The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu chapter has demanded the release of their colleague and member Ganiyat Popoola who was abducted late December last year in Kaduna State.
The doctors on Monday, 19, August, 2024 in a peaceful demonstration around the hospital premises also demanded for the release of the 20 medical students of the University of Jos and Maiduguri who were abducted last Thursday along Otukpa-Otukpo-Enugu Road, Benue State.
Led by President Olusola Monehin, the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) staged a protest at the hospital, demanding the safe and unconditional release of Dr. Popoola and her nephew, abducted over seven months ago.
It was gathered that Dr. Popoola, a registrar at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was kidnapped along with her husband and nephew. While her husband was released in March, Dr. Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.
The protesting doctors carried banners and placards with messages like “FG must help bring back Dr Ganiyat Popoola’’, “We demand the release of Dr Popoola now”, and ”The security agencies should help free Dr Popoola”, among others to drive home their demand.
Monehin said, “All we are saying is that the Federal Government should deploy all the resources at their disposal to set free Dr Ganiyat Popoola. This a mother of five for God’s sake. She even had a six-month-old baby at the time she was abducted.
“Here is a woman contributing her quota to qualitative health care delivery in the country, serving people with all her passion and over seven months after her abduction, we have not seen her return together with her nephew.
“And just on Thursday, another 20 medical students of the University of Jos were waylaid and abducted in Benue. This goes to show that the insecurity challenge is not getting better. We are therefore calling on the appropriate authority to act fast.
“The security efforts should double up their efforts to get these Nigerians out of the gulag of these criminals. We are on our knees begging the government to act fast and do all that is necessary to free Dr Popoola and the 20 medical students.”
