Lagos doctors stage protest over alleged police harassment

Doctors in Lagos on Saturday staged a rare protest, decrying what they described as persistent harassment, intimidation and unlawful arrests by security agencies, particularly the police.

The protest, organised by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos chapter, and the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), saw doctors march from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to the State Police Command in Ikeja, demanding an end to what they called ongoing abuse.

Addressing journalists, ANPMP Chairman, Dr Jonathan Esegine, described the protest as both historic and necessary. “This is a gathering of historical importance because, in recent times, this has not happened. Like the African proverb says, the rabbit does not run in the daytime unless something is pursuing it. Something is pursuing us.”

He warned that the situation poses a wider risk to society. “Doctors are being hounded at will, abducted from their practices, harassed, intimidated, maltreated and imprisoned without just cause,” he said, accusing the police, especially the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), of being the worst offenders. “They label doctors with offences without charges or trial. They act as accuser, prosecutor and judge at the same time.”

Esegine said the arrests are already affecting patient care. “There have been instances where doctors are whisked away from patients and detained for days. While that happens, services are shut down, and patients are denied care.”

He added that the trend is forcing doctors into what he called defensive practice. “When faced with emergencies, a doctor may begin to hesitate, asking: ‘If this goes wrong, will I be arrested and labelled a murderer?’ That is dangerous for society.”

He stressed that medical outcomes are not always guaranteed. “We are not God. We can only care, only God guarantees life. Patients die everywhere in the world, even under the best medical care.”

On accountability, he insisted that only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has the authority to investigate medical negligence, not the police.

Also speaking, Lagos NMA Chairman, Dr Babajide Saheed, condemned what he described as multi-agency harassment and trial by social media. “We are not happy. Doctors are being harassed by the police and other agencies, and even vilified on social media without proper investigation,” he said, urging journalists to verify facts before publication. The protest was triggered by the detention of a doctor and a nurse in Lekki after two critically ill children suffering from severe gastroenteritis died despite treatment.