Nurses_in_Nigeria

Jennifer Ubah,

Correspondent (Africa)

 

MAIDUGURI – Doctors shut down the main hospital in Nigeria’s north-eastern city of Maiduguri after claims were made that police had assaulted staff and patients.

Apparently police officers became angry when the hospital mortuary was too full to take in the bodies of fellow colleagues who had been killed by suspected Islamist militants. Violent scenes ensued thereafter and according to the Nigerian Medical Association it lasted around five hours.

One doctor said to the BBC that they would not continue on as normal until the police brought in security to the hospital.

“This mayhem unleashed on innocent health workers of the hospital, including the acting chief medical director of the hospital, led to the vandalisation of the hospital properties, as well as health workers and patients of the hospital sustaining various degrees of injuries,” said the Nigerian Medical Association.

On Tuesday 7th May, fifty-five people were killed by suspected Boko Haram fighters in Bama, a town about 70km from Maiduguri. The attack occurred before dawn and a police station, military barracks and some government buildings were set on fire. The policemen killed were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the violence broke out when the mortuary was too full to accommodate all the corpses.

The Nigerian Medical Associations’ secretary, Dr Akpufouma Pemu, has said that although the Hippocratic Oath is important which is the oath doctors take to uphold professional standards, doctors have to be alive to take care of patients.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state, Nigeria and is home to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. They have caused havoc in Nigeria and their aim is to overthrow the government and to create an Islamic state.  “Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors.” This is the principle they follow.

Boko Haram have killed at least 2000 people in the north and some central parts of Nigeria.

Image Courtesy: Alexplaugh12 (Wiki Commons) Released under the Public Domain

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Jennifer Ubah

Jennifer Ubah

Jennifer is a student at Cardiff University studying Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies and is a correspondent for The Global Panorama. She thinks that letting the public know what is happening around the world is important because intelligent people can use their minds to think of ways to make the world a fairer and safer place.