April 27, (THEWILL) — Medical doctors acting under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Lagos State chapter and the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners, ANPMP, about a week ago, staged a rare joint protest against persistent harassment, unlawful arrests, intimidation and extortion by the Police and other government agencies.
The protesting doctors, according to reports, marched from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), to the Ikeja Police Command, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “No to blame game,” “Doctors are not God to guarantee life,” “No to vague medical negligence,” “Doctors are not criminals,” “No to police harassment,” and “No to doctors’ abduction,” among others.
Addressing journalists during the protest rally tagged “Protest Against Harassment of Doctors,” Chairman of ANPMP Lagos Chapter, Dr. Jonathan Esegine said the demonstration was necessary to avert a looming collapse in healthcare delivery.
Esegine warned that the increasing harassment of doctors poses a danger not only to the medical profession but also to society at large.
Doctors were being hunted at will, he lamented, abducted from their practices, harassed, intimidated, maltreated and unlawfully detained.
He alleged that the police labelled doctors with offences without charges or trial, acting as accuser, prosecutor and judge at the same time.
He noted that some doctors have been forcefully taken from hospitals while attending to patients, leading to disruptions of critical services and endangering lives.
According to him, there were instances where doctors were whisked away from patients and detained for some days. Whenever that happened, services were shut down and patients denied care.
Esegine, who came across as a leader of the protest, warned that the trend is pushing medical doctors into what is known as ‘defensive medicine’ – a situation where the fear of arrest discourages them from taking life-saving decisions.
He stressed that doctors are not infallible, noting that even under the best care, death can occur. “We are not God. We can only care; only God guarantees life. Patients die everywhere in the world, even under the best medical care,” he said.
The ANPMP chairman insisted that only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had the legal authority to investigate cases of alleged medical negligence, not the police.
Also speaking, Lagos State NMA Chairman, Dr. Babajide Saheed, condemned what he described as “multi-agency harassment” of doctors, including actions by security agencies and trial by social media.
Dr Saheed noted that medical practitioners in Lagos are not happy because are being harassed by the police and other agencies, even vilified on social media without proper investigation.
The protest was triggered, we gathered, by the recent detention of a doctor and a nurse in Lekki following the death of two critically ill children suffering from severe gastroenteritis.
Esegine explained that the victims were brought in “severely dehydrated and septic,” and despite medical efforts, both children died. Instead of due process, he went on, the doctor and nurse were detained for about a week. That was what directly ignited the protest.
The doctors warned that continued harassment could accelerate brain drain, with many young practitioners already seeking opportunities abroad.
“If this does not stop, doctors will leave, and those who remain may withdraw from high-risk cases. The implication for healthcare delivery will be severe,” Esegine cautioned.
The protesting doctors called on the government to immediately halt arbitrary arrests of medical personnel and allow established professional and regulatory bodies to handle complaints.
They also announced plans to formally petition relevant authorities, including the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
“This protest is just the first step,” they warned. “If nothing changes, we will escalate.”
From the foregoing, we infer that medical doctors practicing in Lagos are currently under severe pressure from persistent police harassment, intimidation and unlawful arrests. Bearing in mind that no group of professionals can be productive under such a stifling condition, we call on the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to urgently intervene in the matter.
