Kidnappers feign sickness, abduct medical doctor inside hospital

Medical workers at the Delta State-owned hospital in the creek town of Ojobo in Burutu local government areas of the state had a bitter midnight experience when gunmen stormed the health facility and kidnapped the medical doctor, Wisdom Viotete early Monday morning.

The gang of eight who came into the hospital at about 12:30 am through unusual routes in the creek claimed that one of them was sick and needed to run a test for acute malaria.

While four of them moved to the ward, the others were inside the boat at the waterside unknown to the medical workers that they were feigning the sickness.

According to an eye witness account, the abductors first held the nurse on duty and threaten to kill her if she raises any alarm.

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As the process of running the test was on, the criminals pulled out their guns and bailed up both the doctor and the lab man.

However, the nurse managed to escape into the bush during the confusion that woke up virtually everybody in the premises.

The eye witness account further said that the kidnappers marched the doctor into their waiting boat at the waterside before zooming off.

Tribune Online gathered that security in the general hospital in the creek areas has remained porous for a long time as workers especially doctors and nurses do their work at the mercy of God.

In his reaction, the state Chairman of the Nigerian medical association Dr Ekenam Omo described the incident as sad, saying that the association has written to the security agencies to expedite action in rescuing their colleague from the hands of the kidnappers.

Meanwhile the state Police Public relations officer DSP Onome said the command was not sleeping on its oars in ensuring that Dr Viotete regains his freedom as an investigation into the matter has been intensified.