Following the kidnapping of one of their colleagues from her Calabar home on Thursday, medical physicians in Cross River State have stopped their services till further notice.
Dr Felix Archibong, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River, acknowledged the event in a letter issued on Sunday following an emergency general meeting in Calabar.
The association urged the state government and security authorities to ensure their member’s release.
“Dr. Ekanem Ephraim, a medical practitioner at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), was kidnapped from her home around 7.30 p.m. by armed men posing as patients.”
The doctors remarked that despite their best attempts to secure Ephraim’s release, he has remained imprisoned.
Following that, the association agreed “to embark on a total and indefinite withdrawal of medical services effective immediately in solidarity with our member who is still in the hands of her abductors.”
“This withdrawal of medical service will involve all hospitals in the state both federal, state, private and Mission,” the state chapter of the NMA said.
“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.”
The association also stated that the NMA in Cross River was aware of the suffering that its decision to discontinue services would cause citizens, but it urged the relevant security agencies to ensure the quick return of its abducted member.
