On July 1, 2020, the serene atmosphere at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lokoja, a major tertiary health institution in Kogi State was disrupted when hoodlums invaded the health facility and unleashed mayhem.
The hoodlums, said to be numbering over 50, destroyed parts of the hospital’s administrative block and carted away laptops, ATM cards, infrared thermometers, files and other valuables.
FG, wade into FMC Lokoja crisis
Attack on FMC Lokoja disturbing
Daily Trust Saturday reports that the incident happened amidst heated controversies generated over the COVID-19 status of Kogi State at the time.
Following the attack, the Kogi State Joint Action Congress (JAC) of Health Workers announced a total withdrawal of services in FMC Lokoja across board and urged all its members to remain at home till further notice.
JAC, in a communiqué issued in Lokoja said its decision was premised on the fact that safety of health workers at the hospital was no longer guaranteed following the attack by the hoodlums.
It also noted that members would not return to office until there was security of lives and property in the facility.
According to JAC, there must be adequate provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and validation of COVID-19 status of staff that went on self-isolation.
“In addition to that, there must be expanded triage points such as provision of testing facilities (PCR Machine), and the number of patients to be attended to per clinic should be a maximum of 20 per day.
“And those coming on appointment should be stratified into two sessions to reduce the crowd, and canopies should be provided,” the communique stated.
However, over two months after the incident at the FMC Lokoja, the hospital is yet to be reopened for members of the public to access health care services.
The continuous closure of the hospital is generating concerns amongst stakeholders and people of the state, given the negative impacts the situation has caused to the health and well-being of the masses.
They are worried that the Federal Ministry of Health and the management of the hospital have allowed the situation at the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja to linger for long without resolving it to ensure reopening of the health facility.
Speaking on the situation, a rights activist and Executive Director, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Comrade Idris Miliki, described the situation at FMC Lokoja as “worrisome development” that must be urgently addressed by all relevant stakeholders.
He said the health workers took the action because they were concerned about their safety.
Miliki however blamed the Federal Ministry of Health and the management of the hospital as well as the host state for not doing enough in resolving crisis for reopening of the health facility after being shut down for over two months.
“I was also surprised that while the issue was on, the management of the hospital didn’t help matters.
“The Federal Ministry of Health has not done enough in addressing the impasse.
“A tertiary health institution as important as FMC has been closed down for this long.
“For the past two months or thereabouts, the federal government has not done any visitation; the state government has not met with the unions to see how to resolve the crisis.
“The citizens that are suffering, are they not Nigerian citizens?
“The State Specialist Hospital cannot take over the services of FMC.
“People are in a dilemma and some are dying because there are no doctors attending to them.
“We are calling on the Minister of Health, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General Police to assist the people of Kogi State by deploying security personnel to FMC for the health workers to have the confidence to resume work.
“Can’t the Federal Ministry of Health and the Inspector General of Police put heads together to resolve this issue?
“It is not only people of Kogi that are using the FMC Lokoja; accident victims travelling through the state are usually rushed there for attention.
“It is one of the best FMC in Nigeria.
“It is unfortunate that the minister of health has left this hospital to be shut down for this long.
“The Federal Ministry of Health, the security agencies and management of the hospital must find a way of resolving this problem”, he said.
Speaking in similar vein, Chairman of the Kogi State chapter of the Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC), Comrade Alfa Ebune, who lamented the situation at the hospital, appealed to the federal government to urgently address the crisis to facilitate reopening of the health facility in the interest of public health.
“I want to appeal to the federal government through the Ministry of Health to intervene on behalf of the common man in Kogi State.
“It is a matter of urgent concern for us all”, he said.
A resident of Lokoja, Johnson Abegunde, said the closure was having negative impacts on the people especially in the area of access to specialized services.
“For many patients, accessing specialist care is a challenge because you cannot compare the level of manpower and the equipment they have at FMC with what you can find in any other hospital”, he said.
A health worker in the hospital who spoke in confidence said the shutting down of the hospital apart from taking tolls on healthcare and wellbeing of the masses, it was equally affecting the health workers especially doctors.
“It’s affecting our training and a lot of things.
“We have House Officers who are undergoing training, so it’s affecting them, and the doctors who are undergoing training can’t complete their posting”, he said.
Kogi NMA reacts to impasse
Speaking on the crisis, the Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Kogi State, Dr Omakoji Oyiguh, said there was an urgent need for all stakeholders to come to a round table to resolve the issue to ensure reopening of the hospital.
He said the health workers did not down tools as being insinuated, saying their action was as a result of threats to their safety in the work place following the incident.
“They were actually going to hold a meeting when some hoodlums came and attacked them.
“And they feel that their safety as staffers of the hospital was in jeopardy.
“From attendants to nurses and everybody, that their lives were at stake and that they needed some assurance on their security.
“We as NMA in the state, as the leading medical professional group in the state, have a duty not only to ourselves but the community.
“We heard that the Kogi State House of Assembly moved a motion calling for the reopening of the FMC and we visited the speaker to commend him.
“We are actually concerned about the situation because there are a lot of people who cannot afford services in private hospitals.
“Many are suffering and some are dying and nobody knows who will be the next victim.
“This is the highest hospital facility in the state.
“It therefore behooves on us to wake up and work towards peacefully resolving whatsoever is responsible for the closure.
“I appeal to the parties concerned to meet quickly and resolve whatever the issues are and ensure there is adequate security in place for the joint health workers to be able to work in the hospital without any fear”, he said.
Minister’s response on FMC crises
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, while responding to the said incident sometime in July, said the attack on the FMC, Lokoja had gone beyond the health ministry and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to the level of the presidency.
“We are alerting the relevant authorities in terms of security beef up at the centre as well as for the entire health workers at the centre.
“We have a duty to protect every one of you in the course of carrying out your legitimate duties”, he said.
He stated this during a meeting with Chief Medical Directors of Federal Medical Centres, tertiary hospitals and specialty hospitals across the country.
Mamora, who was responding to the CMDs’ complaint of lack of support or poor relationship between their hospitals and some host state governors, added that there was a need for synergy and collaboration with state governments to achieve results.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the Director, Hospital Services in the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, on why the issues have not been resolved for reopening of the hospital proved abortive as calls and text messages put across were not responded to.
In the same vein, the Chief Medical Director of FMC Lokoja, Dr Olatunde Alabi, also did not respond to the inquiries by our reporter in respect of his efforts in resolving the issues.
Kogi government: We are facilitating reopening of FMC
Reacting, the Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Haruna Saka, said: “To de-escalate the tension, the Kogi State Government is playing a leading role to nip the issue in the bud and facilitate the reopening of the institution soonest.
Police: No cause for alarm
But Spokesman of the Kogi Police Command, Williams Aya, said the health workers have no cause for alarm as adequate security has been provided at the hospital.
“We have commenced investigations into the incident and have since beefed up security at the hospital.
“We have our men on plain cloth deployed there on intelligence who are not visible to ensure the area is safe for all the staff to go about their lawful activities.
“There is no cause for alarm as far as the security of that place is concerned.
“Their safety is guaranteed because the commissioner of police has deployed adequate security personnel to the hospital.
“We assure them there is enough security presence to enable them go about their activities.
“Their safety is guaranteed.
“If they want to resume duties, they are free to do so as we have done everything to ensure there is no security breach there”, he said.
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