Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has appealed to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to help secure the release of Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, a Kaduna-based physician who has been held by kidnappers for nearly eight months.
According to The PUNCH, Dr. Popoola, a registrar in the Ophthalmology Department at the National Eye Centre in Kaduna, was abducted on December 27, 2023, alongside her husband, Squadron Leader Nurudeen Popoola, and her nephew, Folaranmi Abdul-Mugniy, who resides with them.
Despite extensive negotiations, her husband was freed on March 8, 2024, while Dr. Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity. The kidnappers have intermittently allowed family contact, most recently on July 24, 2024, to confirm their well-being.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has actively campaigned for Dr. Popoola’s release, staging peaceful protests across various states and in Abuja. The association has threatened a nationwide strike if Dr. Popoola is not released by August 26.
In a letter dated August 12, Prof. Pate urged the NSA and IG to take urgent action to secure Dr. Popoola’s freedom.
The letter, titled ‘RE: Kidnap of Resident Doctor at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna: A need for urgent intervention to avert industrial disharmony’, stated,
“The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is in receipt of a letter from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors Ref.no.NARD/SG/2023-2024/290724/788, dated 29th July 2024 (copy attached) on the above subject.”
“In the letter under reference, the association informed of the abduction of one of their members, Dr. Ganiyat Olawole Popoola, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Care Centre, Kaduna, and her nephew over seven months ago (December, 2023), and the victims have remained in the custody of the kidnappers to date.”
“In view of the above, the ministry is requesting your urgent intervention not only to save the lives of the kidnapped victims but also to avert industrial disharmony in the health sector.”
“While anticipating your prompt action, please accept the warm regards of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.”