By CLEMENT JAMES, Calabar

Medical Doctors from both government and private hospitals, including the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), on Tuesday locked up hospitals in the state to protest the abduction of their colleague, Dr. Vivien Mesembe Otu.

Dr. Otu was abducted on Friday evening near a popular market in Calabar municipality by unknown gunmen and has since not been traced.

However, medical doctors abandoned their duty posts and marched to the state House Assembly where they were addressed by the Speaker, Jonas Eteng before taking their protest to the Governor’s Office not far from the Assembly.

At the Governor’s Office, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Innocent Abang said: “We have come to present our grievances to the governor because of the incessant kidnap of our colleagues and how we have become endangered species in Cross River State.

“We pay taxes in this state and we are protecting lives and saving lives. So we want to tell the government to please protect our land and give us the privilege to save lives.

“The State Security Adviser, who is standing in for the governor who is not around, should brief us how far they have gone to assure us that our colleague is safe and will be released to us today. We don’t want it beyond today. We want Cross River State to be safe from kidnapping. Other states had had it this way and they are doing well now. We can also do well.”

Replying, the State Security Officer (South), Mr. Ani Esin, who stood in for the governor, said: “I welcome you to governor’s office. We are aware of your plight. On Friday, we received a distress call about your colleague who was kidnapped on Friday evening and we quickly swung into action. It is an unfortunate situation that we see. Once again, a doctor has been kidnapped. It is something we try to avoid. But it has happened.” (New Telegraph)