Nurses at Ogun State Hospital in Ijaye, Abeokuta, braved the rain on Thursday to protest the alleged assault of a final year nursing student by Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Nurudeen Adekunle. Joined by colleagues from across the state, the nurses expressed their outrage over the incident that took place on September 24, when Adekunle reportedly slapped the student nurse in the theatre suite.
Despite numerous attempts to seek redress since the incident, the nurses have seen little to no response from the hospital management or government officials, prompting them to take a stand. The protest was led by Adejoke Bello, the state chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), who emphasized the need for action against such unacceptable behavior.
“This peaceful demonstration is to register our dissatisfaction and displeasure over the unethical practice of a consultant orthopaedic surgeon with Ogun State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Nurudeen Adekunle, who slapped a final year student nurse precisely on September 24,” Bello stated. “This is assault and it is against the public rule service; this should not have happened under whatever circumstances. It is gross misconduct for you to have slapped your subordinate at work. So we are here to say that the entire nurses in Ogun State won’t tolerate this.”
The protest saw nurses chanting songs and holding placards with powerful messages, including, “End bullying of nurses,” “Zero tolerance for nurses bullying,” and “Justice for nurses, a must.”
Bello highlighted that the protest was not the desired outcome, stating, “This ordinarily should not have degenerated to this level of protest, but we have written to the appropriate quarters since last Monday and given them 48 hours to address this unfortunate incident but we have heard nothing from them.”
Lola Idowu Falujo, Unit Chairman of NANNM at the State Hospital, echoed the sentiments of her colleagues, condemning Adekunle’s actions as falling below public service standards.
“We are out to end bullying of nurses, we are saying no to all forms of assault against nurses. We don’t deserve any form of maltreatment,” she asserted. Falujo also revealed that the doctor had threatened the student nurse, claiming that if the incident was reported, the student would not graduate.
Following the protest, the Permanent Secretary of the Hospital Management Board, Dr. Mrs. Olayinka Elemide, addressed the nurses, assuring them that the government is aware of the situation and is taking steps to address it.
“The government is aware of this situation and already taking steps to ensure that due process is followed. The doctor and the student nurse are both in the care of the government, so we are on top of the situation,” she stated.