Angry Policemen numbering over 20 today stormed the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Shooting sporadically and stealing handset and other Valuables President Association of Resident Doctors UMTH Doctor Mohammed Yahaya has said.
The resident Doctors worried by the invasion and subsequent sporadic shooting by the police have immediately announced an indefinite strike action leaving already admitted patients to their fate.
Dr. Yahaya call on President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently intervain in the brewing crises as the lives of doctors and patients are no longer safe in the Federal government
It was gathered that trouble started early yesterday morning when some morgue attendants rejected 35 decomposing police corpse brought in from declaring that there was no more space as the morgue was filled to capacity
But the explanation of the morgue attendants fell on the deaf ears of already aggrieved policemen whose colleagues were shot dead by suspected boko haram terrorist in Bama town rather went wild and shooting , beating up doctors and other health workers around the vicinity of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital
Bullet holes and broken windows was seen as reporters were conducted round the hospital by some UMTH officials.
However, apart from other doctors and intending patients who ran away for their dear lives when the shooting was going on, Dr. Abba Kabir, a histopathologist were not so lukky as he had fracture while trying to escape the scene of the incident.
” I am am alive even though I had frature on my right led. I had though I would have been the hit by bullets but Alhamdulillah am alive” Dr. Kabir told reporters from his seek bed.
The President of the resident doctors said ” enough is enough ” pointing out that his members has suffered series of brutality in the hands of the police and other security operatives in the state since the boko haram crises started.
” We can not tolerate this inhuman treatment anymore from security operatives, this must stop now. We have been cooperating with management, civilians, Police and the Joint Task Force to see to it that all our patients are well catered for but with this incident enough is enough we can not continue to work in an unsafe atmosphere.
“” the police had brought 35 copse from Bama as a result of the incident in the town but unfortunately our morgue was already filled to capacity.
The capacity of our morgue is 45 and 11 out of the 45 are not functional, we don’t even have one space for their copse, besides, the copse they brought are already decomposing and can not fit into our facility but they wouldn’t listen.
” For this reason, on behalf of my members I have declared an indefinite strike starting from today (yesterday). This action of the police is unacceptable, they beat up our doctors, our Professors and our teachers, the worst of all is that one of our doctors is lying ill at the orthopaedic ward as a result fractured sustained while running for his dear life.
The president noted that urget measures must be taken by the government to pay compensation to its members and demanded an unreserved apology from the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to tender an unreserved apology over the actions of the policemen.
Meanwhile the heath sector in the state seems to be at a stand – still as the Nigerian Medical Association Borno State Brach and thr Nuro Psychiatric Hospital have joined strike action embarked upon by the UMTH resident doctors
Daily Newswatch checks reveals that the UMTH alone cater for the heaths needs of of the state and to a large extent the noth east geo-political zone. There is no doubt that the citizens in the ares may have to start thinking of seeking medical needs elsewhere.