The Abia State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued a 24-hour indefinite strike ultimatum to security agencies and the governments of Abia and Imo States to ensure the immediate release of its member and a surgeon, Dr. Bonaventure Aguocha.
This was contained in a communique signed by the Chairman, Dr. Ezenwa Ezuruike, and Secretary, Dr. Clement Ifenkoronye.
The communique was issued at the end of the NMA’s Emergency General Meeting and issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Monday.
The association warned that failure to secure Aguocha’s release would trigger off “total and indefinite strike” in the state from 8am on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
The meeting, convened to deliberate on the continued captivity of the renowned orthopaedic surgeon, noted that Aguocha was abducted while returning to Umuahia, the Abia State capital, from Imo State on May 24, 2026.
It described Aguocha as a teacher, mentor, and past Abia State NMA Chairman, who had rendered “selfless services” in both states.
It described the incident as “one too many” in a pattern of attacks on medical practitioners, citing the unresolved 2020 abduction of a former Chief Medical Director of Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Uwadinachi Iweha.
“Doctors have increasingly become targets of assaults, harassment, intimidation and abduction by criminal elements, in spite of their commitment to providing quality healthcare under challenging conditions of poor motivation and remuneration,” the communiqué stated.
It called on the Department of State Services (DSS), Inspector General of Police, and Commissioners of Police in Abia and Imo States to intensify efforts to secure Aguocha’s freedom.
It urged the governors of the two-sister states to deploy all the necessary resources and influence for his prompt release.
The congress appealed to the Federal and State Governments, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and well-meaning Nigerians to join efforts to secure the physician’s release.
It warned that failure to act within the stipulated timeframe would further erode healthcare workers’ confidence in the government’s ability to guarantee their safety and could adversely affect healthcare delivery in the two states.
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