Assault on doctor triggers fresh strike at teaching hospital, months after EFCC controversy

Resident doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital have begun an indefinite strike after an elderly woman allegedly assaulted a house officer, reviving concerns about violence against healthcare workers at the facility.

The strike started at 8 a.m. on Wednesday after an emergency meeting of resident doctors. The Nigerian Medical Association’s Akwa Ibom branch called the assault “barbaric” and unacceptable, saying medical staff must be able to work without intimidation or violence.

The association gave UUTH management and relevant security agencies 48 hours to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible. It also called for immediate improvements to security across health facilities in Akwa Ibom to protect workers, patients and hospital property.

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Barbaric

The dispute is the latest interruption to services at UUTH. In May, doctors in the state launched another indefinite strike after an operation by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials at the hospital. The operation caused panic and disrupted clinical services after witnesses alleged that operatives used tear gas, prompting workers and patients to flee.

The incident centred on the arrest of Eyo Ekpe, a professor and deputy chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee. Chief Medical Director Emem Bassey later said staff had been brutalised and that five workers, including Ekpe, were arrested and later released. The EFCC initially denied assaulting or arresting hospital staff but ordered an internal investigation. Its chairperson, Ola Olukoyede, later apologised to Ekpe and NMA members and ordered a full probe. The NMA then suspended the strike.

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The NMA-AKS hereby demands that relevant security agencies and the management of UUTH within 48 hours of this release, identify, apprehend, and bring the perpetrators of this assault to book.