Nigeria: Unknown gunmen kidnap doctor

Unknown gunmen have kidnapped a medical doctor in Nigeria’s south state of Abia, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) said on Monday.

The doctor was taken away by the gunmen from his house in the town of Umuajameze Umuopara, in the state’s Umuahia South local government area, on June 6, an NMA statement said.

NMA President Uche Ojinmah Ojinmah called on security agencies to redouble their efforts in securing the release of the doctor, and urged the government to create a deliberate policy to prevent the kidnapping of doctors, other healthcare workers and their families to stem the medical brain drain in Nigeria.

“We shall not take kindly to any more waste of scarce medical skills,” Ojinmah said.

A statement from the Abia state government on Sunday confirmed the kidnap of the doctor, saying all necessary measures and resources were deployed to secure the release of the doctor.