The battle between the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Imo State chapter and the state government over the concession of Health Institutions in the state on Thursday turned bloody following the shooting of a renowned Consultant Family Physician – Dr Bede Azudialor by the police.
Azudialor, a staff of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri was allegedly shot on the head by a yet to be identified police officer during a protest rally in Owerri by the NMA against the anti-life policies of the state government.
He was first rushed to the emergency unit of the FMC Owerri from where he was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) and later ferried to an undisclosed hospital.
The State Chairman of the Nigerian Guild of Doctors Dr Darlington Akukwu who briefed newsmen on the incident at the NMA secretariat in Owerri thereafter announced a three-day warning strike by doctors in the state in protest against the alleged police brutality of their colleague.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase to compel the commissioner of police in the state, Taiwo Lakanu to produce the culprit who perpetrated the act, just as he pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari for a thorough investigation into the matter.
Akukwu warned that failure to produce the happy trigger police officer would provoke an indefinite strike by the NMA in the state.
When contacted, the PPRO in the state (DSP) Andrew Enwerem said that the police only used tear gas to disperse the protesting doctors when they became riotous.
