Nurses at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) have withdrawn their services and staged a protest following the arrest and detention of three of their colleagues by police officers on Monday night.
The incident, which has sparked outrage among healthcare workers, occurred after a patient brought into the hospital by a Good Samaritan succumbed to injuries sustained from a fall from a tricycle.
Relatives of the deceased reportedly accused the nurses of mishandling the deceased’s belongings, including a missing SIM card, and subsequently involved law enforcement.
Eyewitnesses reported that armed police officers stormed the hospital at around 9:00 pm, arresting the nurses on duty in what staff described as an aggressive and unjust manner. The Nigerian Nurses Association, UCTH chapter, has condemned the arrest, calling it an act of intimidation and a violation of due process.
In response, over 100 nurses and midwives staged a protest on Tuesday morning, blocking the hospital’s entrance and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Nurses Save Lives, Stop the Harassment” and “Nurses are not criminals, Police stop this nonsense now”.
Clinical services were disrupted, leaving patients in uncertainty as the nurses demanded the immediate release of their detained colleagues.
Tribune Online reports that hospital management and security agencies are currently in emergency talks to address the situation, as efforts to reach the police for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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