A resident doctor, Dr. Orockarrah Orock attached to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State has escaped from his abductors.
The Nigeria Medical Association , NMA, has confirmed that a resident doctor, Dr. Orockarrah Orock, attached to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital , UNTH, in Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, has escaped from his abductors.
Dr. Orock, who worked in the Anesthesia Department of UNTH, was abducted on Saturday night while on call duty within the hospital premises.
The Chairman of the NMA in Enugu State, Dr. Celestine Ugwoke, provided confirmation of Dr. Orock’s escape to reporters in Enugu on Monday.
Ugwoke disclosed that Orock miraculously made his escape after the kidnappers felt satisfied with the offer to pay the ransom demanded by his wife and gone to have “nice time with their weeds and spirits and fell into deep sleep”.
He explained that the abducted doctor gradually crawled away from the spot he was kept in the kidnappers’ den and later trekked and ran a distance before sighting human activities and then came out near the Four Corner Junction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
“He called his wife and the wife called the UNTH chief security officer that picked him up. We are profoundly grateful to God for his miraculous escape”, the chairman stated.
The chairman however, noted that doctors has become endangered professionals in the State, as kidnappers always target them especially those working in tertiary health institutions in the State.
“We are really in trouble as doctors are now their target and we are living in fear as the kidnappers now chase us as if they are chasing rats”, he said.
The chairman further stated that any more abduction of any doctor in UNTH again, doctors in the teaching hospital would totally down tools adding that this warning would be extended to other tertiary hospitals in the State.
Ugwoke said that the association would be meeting with the Chief Medical Director of UNTH to mandate him to release security protocol for the hospital, to ensure safety of all doctors, management staff, staff and patients in the hospital.
“We also want the hospital management to beef up security within the hospital, ensure adequate perimeter fencing of the entire hospital and installation of Close Circuit Television Camera and its monitoring base within the hospital.
“As an association, we have previously met the State’s Commissioner for Health and the Commissioner of Police on the spate of insecurity our members face even in the discharge of their life-saving professional duties.
“All efforts through official letters and other means to pay a courtesy call on Gov. Peter Mbah and intimate him on the vital issue of doctors’ security in the State had proved abortive.
“Maybe, the government wants doctors to leave their duty posts and carry placards to the Enugu Government House before listening to us. This will be very bad, if allowed to drag to this point”, Ugwoke added.
It was unsuccessful to get DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the spokesperson for the Enugu State Police Command, to comment on the issue because he did not answer multiple calls to his cellphone.
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