Medical doctors in Lagos under the umbrella of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) on Thursday staged a rare joint protest, condemning what they described as “persistent harassment, intimidation and unlawful arrests” by government agencies, particularly the police.
The demonstration, tagged “Protest Against Harassment of Doctors,” saw practitioners march from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, carrying placards and calling for urgent intervention.
Addressing journalists during the rally, ANPMP Chairman, Jonathan Esegine, described the protest as unprecedented and necessary to prevent a breakdown in healthcare delivery.
“This is a gathering of historical importance because, in recent times, this has not happened. Like the African proverb says, the rabbit does not run in the daytime unless something is pursuing it. Something is pursuing us,” he said.
Esegine warned that the growing trend of arrests and intimidation poses a “potent danger” to both the medical profession and the wider society, alleging that doctors are increasingly being targeted without due process.
According to him, practitioners are being “hounded at will, abducted from their practices, harassed, intimidated, maltreated and imprisoned without just cause,” with the police, particularly the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), identified as frequent culprits.
“They label doctors with offences without charges or trial. They act as accuser, prosecutor and judge at the same time,” he said.
He further alleged that some doctors have been forcibly removed from hospitals while attending to patients, disrupting critical care and putting lives at risk.
“There have been instances where doctors are whisked away from patients and detained for days. While that happens, services are shut down, and patients are denied care,” he added.
Esegine cautioned that the situation is fostering “defensive medicine,” where fear of arrest may cause hesitation in emergency situations.
“When faced with emergencies, a doctor may begin to hesitate, asking: ‘If this goes wrong, will I be arrested and labelled a murderer?’ That is dangerous for society,” he said.
He stressed the limits of medical practice, noting, “We are not God. We can only care, only God guarantees life. Patients die everywhere in the world, even under the best medical care.”
The ANPMP chairman maintained that only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has the statutory authority to investigate allegations of medical negligence, not law enforcement agencies.
Also speaking, Lagos NMA Chairman, Babajide Saheed, decried what he termed “multi-agency harassment” of doctors, including actions by security agencies and public condemnation on social media.
“We are not happy. Doctors are being harassed by the police and other agencies, and even vilified on social media without proper investigation,” he said.
He urged the media to uphold ethical standards by verifying facts before reporting cases involving alleged medical negligence.
The protest was reportedly triggered by the recent detention of a doctor and a nurse in Lekki following the death of two critically ill children.
Esegine explained that the children were brought in “severely dehydrated and septic,” and despite medical intervention, both died.
“Instead of due process, the doctor and nurse were detained for about a week. That is what jolted us into action,” he said.
