The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, has declared a five-day warning strike over the assault of a doctor and what it described as persistent and unresolved security threats at the hospital.
The industrial action commenced at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, following an Emergency General Meeting of the association held at the ARD Lounge.
The doctors said the immediate trigger for the strike was the assault of a colleague on Wednesday.
However, they stressed that the incident was not isolated, but part of a recurring pattern of aggression, poor security and unsafe working conditions confronting doctors and other healthcare workers at the specialist medical centre.
In a communique issued after the meeting and signed by the ARD President, Dr Olanipekun Quadri, and General Secretary, Dr Olorunfemi Solomon, the association said several concerns previously brought before hospital management remained unresolved despite repeated assurances.
Among the outstanding issues, the doctors cited the failure to compensate house officers whose personal belongings were stolen from their quarters on June 4, 2026.
They also raised concerns over inadequate lighting in areas where healthcare workers perform night duties, as well as what they described as serious security lapses around the Emergency Treatment Room (ETR).
According to the association, the ETR remains “excessively porous,” allowing unrestricted movement of patients’ relatives and unauthorised persons into the area.
It warned that the situation exposes healthcare workers to avoidable confrontations and physical assaults.
The doctors further alleged that adequate security personnel, including armed personnel, had not been deployed to strategic locations within the facility despite previous concerns raised with management.
The association also criticised a recent publication attributed to SERVICOM, arguing that the publication had created a negative public perception of doctors despite the fact that hospital management had already constituted an investigative panel to examine the incident.
The ARD consequently demanded an immediate public response to what it described as misinformation circulating on social media and called for measures to protect healthcare workers from further attacks.
Among its demands are the immediate compensation of the affected house officers, deployment of armed security personnel to high-risk areas and the strengthening of access control around the ETR.
The doctors also demanded the provision of functional lighting in areas used for night duties and the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras across critical sections of the facility.
Other demands include the display of standardised admission and emergency treatment protocols, relocation of payment points outside the ETR and the abolition of the waiting area within the emergency treatment room.
The association also called for the immediate prosecution of the person accused of assaulting the doctor.
The doctors warned that continued failure to address the issues could further undermine staff morale, patient safety and the smooth delivery of healthcare services at the centre.
“The continued recurrence of these concerns, despite such assurances, has left the Association with serious reservations regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of the interventions undertaken to date,” the communique stated.
The ARD, however, said it remained committed to dialogue and constructive engagement with hospital management and other relevant stakeholders.
It urged management to take “immediate, concrete and verifiable steps” to create a safe and conducive working environment for healthcare workers and patients.
The association also clarified that the five-day warning strike did not suspend or replace the 21-day ultimatum it had previously issued to hospital management.
It said all demands contained in the ultimatum remained valid and subsisting, even as the doctors urged management to act swiftly, warning that resolving the security concerns was essential not only for the welfare of healthcare workers but also for patient safety, industrial harmony and uninterrupted delivery of quality healthcare services.
