FMC Abeokuta Workers Begin Strike Over Colleague’s Attack
Dr. Nafisat Makinde
Health workers at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, began a 72 hour warning strike on Monday following the alleged stabbing of a medical laboratory scientist, Lawal Toheeb Olasunkanmi, by a patient’s relative.
The Joint Action Committee of five health sector unions announced the strike in a letter dated Oct. 12 and addressed to the hospital’s medical director. The action began at 11 a.m. on Monday and was scheduled to end at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. Doctors were excluded from the strike.
Abiodun Famuyiwa, chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria at the hospital, said Olasunkanmi was stabbed in two places, including his head, while on duty on Sunday night. He said the injured scientist was receiving treatment at the hospital and that the incident had been reported to the police.
The unions demanded an investigation and prosecution of the alleged assailant, medical and psychological support for the injured worker, and an urgent review of security arrangements across the facility. They also called for stronger protection in clinical and laboratory areas, emergency units and other vulnerable locations, alongside clear procedures for reporting assaults against staff.
FMC Abeokuta spokesperson Gbemisola Olatunji said hospital management had met union representatives and appealed for the suspension of the strike in the public interest. She said the incident had been reported to Kemta Police Station and that the medical director accompanied the injured worker to make an official statement. Management also agreed to strengthen security at the facility.
The Federal Government condemned the attack and demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the alleged assailant. In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and signed by Ado Bako, assistant director of information and public relations, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said dissatisfaction with medical care could not justify violence against health workers.
Salako said the incident reinforced the need to implement measures announced by the ministry on Aug. 5 to improve the safety of health workers in federal tertiary hospitals. The measures include strengthened security arrangements, violence prevention teams, incident reporting systems, collaboration with law enforcement agencies and improved procedures for handling complaints. He urged the striking workers to resume duty in the interest of patients and the wider public.
The unions had scheduled their return to work for 8 a.m. on Oct. 15. As of Oct. 14, the reports reviewed did not confirm whether the police had arrested a suspect or whether the industrial action had been resolved.