Lagos medical doctors aggrieved by constant police harassment

Medical doctors under the umbrella of
Association of General and Private Medical
Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, Lagos State
Chapter yesterday raised alarm over alleged
frequent harassment of medical doctors by
members of the Police force.
The Association’s Chairman, Dr. Adeyeye
Arigbabuwo said that the recent incident which
involved one of their colleagues, Dr. Olafisoye
Odunayo of Awoyaya, Ibeju Lekki, being harassed
by the Police for doing his job has left them with
no other choice but to draw the attention of the
public and relevant agencies to curb the Police
from constantly harassing them.
Arigbabuwo explained that one of their colleagues
operated on a female patient with Pre-Eclampsia,
in December, last year, but lost the patient after
surgery due to complications of surgery. He said
the Doctor was harassed at his practice by the
Police when the deceased family made a report to
them.
He said:
“Following the death of one Mrs. Juliet
Williams, the relations felt aggrieved and
reported the case to the Police who came
to arrest Dr. Odunayo. The doctor spent
about two weeks in detention and was
eventually released on bail with the
condition to report periodically to the
Elemoro Police Station.
“Barely three weeks after the bail, he was
rearrested by another set of Police officers
purported to be from Abuja on the
instructions of the Inspector General of
Police. What we found vexatious and
demeaning of the arrest was the method
employed in arresting him; he was
handcuffed in the full glare of his patients
as if he were a common criminal.”
The association asked for an unconditional and
immediate release of Dr. Olafisoye, and any other
doctor that may be in the custody of the Police in
similar manner in Lagos State and across the
country.