Nigerian Doctors Begin Nationwide Strike Over Kidnapped Colleague Held for Eight Months

Doctors in Nigerian public hospitals have started a seven-day nationwide strike to demand the release of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who has been held by kidnappers for eight months.

The mother of five was taken from her home in the middle of the night on 27 December alongside her husband and a nephew.

Her husband was released in March after a ransom was reportedly paid but the kidnappers held onto the ophthalmologist and her relative.

The doctors say they will not even provide emergency care during the strike.

They feel that the security agencies are not doing enough to secure Dr Poopola's freedom.

President of the doctors' association Dr Dele Abdullahi told the BBC: "It’s been eight months of agony for her, her family, and her colleagues. The life of doctors should matter to Nigerians," adding that if nothing changes, they would declare an indefinite strike.

Her colleague Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Okpanaki said doctors were "demoralised and terrified. In a country where medical workers are leaving, those that have chosen to stay should be protected."

Dr Poopola started working at the National Eye Centre hospital about six years ago, Dr Okpanaki said.

He described her as a very dedicated professional and responsible family woman.

At the time she was kidnapped, she was still breastfeeding her youngest child.

The hospital in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria, is one of the biggest eye hospitals in the country.

Experts say the hospital's location on the outskirts of Kaduna city makes it an easy target for kidnappers.

Her home was within the vicinity of the hospital.

In 2021, dozens of students were taken from the nearby College of Forestry.

Dr Poopola's kidnappers are asking for 40m naira (£19,000; $25,000) for their freedom.

Although a controversial law criminalising ransom payments came into effect in 2022, they are still often paid by relatives desperate to free their loved ones.

The law carries a jail sentence of at least 15 years for anyone who pays a ransom, although no one has yet been convicted.

The government has yet to comment on the strike or the doctor’s situation.

Dr Popoola's husband has declined requests to talk to the media.

Dr Abdullahi told the BBC that “the family was exploring a diplomatic route initially, but they have now given us the permission to explore other options".

In recent years, kidnapping has become rife in Nigeria, with hundreds of people abducted, largely by criminal gangs who see it as an easy way to make money. It has been particularly bad in the north-west of the country.