Medical staff and non-medical of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Edo State, on Wednesday embarked on indefinite strike action in protest of the abduction of the Chief Medical Director of Hospital, Professor Sylvanus Okogbeni.
Okogbeni was kidnapped on Monday at at Ramat Park, in Benin, by unknown gunmen after killing two of his three mobile police orderlies.
The strike action has thrown patients of the Hospital into concussion and misery, making their family members to begin withdrawing them to other medical facilities for care.
One of the family members who gave his name simply as Jonathan, lamented that the situation is taking toll on their meagre resource, as they have to start treatment process over again.
“The strike action is rather unfortunate. We have to seek alternative medical facilities for our loved ones. But it is not funny. We have to start treatment process again. It is telling much on our pockets,” Jonathan said.
One of the doctors who craved anonymity, however said that the doctors will continue to attend to emergency cases only.
The Public Relations Officer of the Hospital, Odijie Ernest Ohue, in a telephone interview with journalists in Benin, expressed worry the prolong silence of the hoodlums who were yet to open negotiation, three days after the kidnap of the CMD.
“We are yet to be contacted by the kidnappers. We are worried and the workers have continued their strike because they are pained about the incident.
“The man has been doing a great work here. Some parents have come to withdraw their wards because of the strike,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. DanMallam Mohammed, has said that the police is on the trail of the gunmen who abducted Prof. Okogbeni.
Mohammed who spoke shortly after a closed door security meeting with Governor Godwin Obaseki on Tuesday, described the incident as unfortunate and sad.
“The kidnap of CMD is quite unfortunate and sad. We lost two of our gallant police officers in the incident. I am assuring members of the public that we are on the trail of the kidnappers and by God’s grace, we shall arrest them.
“Investigation is already ongoing but the strategy will not be revealed for security reasons. However, we assure Edo people that the CMD will be rescued soon. We are on top of our game and will surely rescue him as we have been doing a lot of work along our major highways in the state.”
