Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Medical Doctors under the umbrella of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have thrown their support behind the protesters calling for an end to police brutality and other forms of misgovernance.
The reason, the doctors said, was that they (doctors) have had their fair share of the police brutality particularly from Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) officials, even as medical doctors working hard to save lives of people.
NARD President, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, in a statement released in Abuja, on Wednesday, expressed concerns about the increasing unrest in the country, and enjoined all men of good value to condemn the recent spate of killing of unarmed innocent Nigerians.
“But we want to categorically state that we stand with other Nigerians on the #EndSARS campaign because Medical Doctors have also been at the receiving end of this dastardly act by members of the now defunct Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS).
“We strongly join Nigerians to demand that the military be removed from streets and the Police be refrained from shooting at unarmed citizens. They should protect the innocent citizens who have the constitutional right to protest,” he suggested.
The Doctors, however, called on angry protesters to conduct themselves peacefully and not allow thugs and miscreants to take advantage of the peaceful protest.
They, equally, called on President, Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly members to speak to Nigerians and address their legitimate demands.
They advised the protesters put in place infection prevention methods to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19. “This is imperative so as not to allow the twin menace of SARS 1 and SARS 2 continue to take away the lives of our hardworking and energetic youths.
“Nigerians are running away from Nigeria in their numbers because of a lot of reasons including insecurity. Let’s not make an already bad situation worse by giving the rest of us more reasons to run away.
“Our healthcare system is already overstretched to an elastic limit by COVID-19. We should not stretch it more with trauma and gunshot cases as it’s witnessed on Tuesday in Lekki, Lagos.
“Nevertheless, our doors are open in all the State and Federal Tertiary Health facilities for expert management of injured Nigerians where necessary. Federal and State governments should ensure smooth movement and safety of medical doctors and other health workers during this period especially as many states are declaring 24 hours curfew.”
The doctors called on Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to discontinue with the Physicians’ week in solidarity with the #EndSARS campaign, and as a mark of respect to those who have lost their lives so far in this protest. “We can’t celebrate when our patients are dying.”