The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has mourned a doctor identified as Megafu Chinelo, who was shot and killed in the Kaduna train attack on Monday.
President of the NMA, Professor (Dr) Innocent A O Ujah, FNMA, in a statement on Tuesday, described her death as horrific and preventable.
Indeed all Medical and Dental Practitioners under the auspices of NMA are deeply saddened by the tragic, horrific and preventable death of one of our members, Dr Chinelo Megafu Nwando who is reported to have lost her life from injuries sustained from gun shots when the train she travelled in from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by suspected bandits,” the statement read. in part.
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According to the NMA, Chinelo served at the Kaduna State Dental Centre and worked with St Gerrard’s Hospital, Kakuri.
She was enroute Kaduna, from Abuja when the attack occurred.
“I’m in the train, I have been shot. Please pray for me,” Dr Chinelo had tweeted, hours before she was confirmed dead.
Lamenting the unfortunate incident, the NMA said the worsening insecurity in the country has made every Nigerian vulnerable to such attacks.
“As an Association, we vehemently decry the worsening insecurity in the country which has made all of us and Nigerians as a whole vulnerable to violent attacks by hoodlums, bandits, kidnappers and terrorists who are currently having a field day causing us deep sorrows and severe pains.
“The untimely death of the young, promising Dr Chinelo who served at the Kaduna State Dental Centre and worked with St Gerrard’s Hospital, Kakuri, while striving to earn an honest living is one other death too many. The Association notes that needless blood-letting and senseless loss of lives is fast becoming a recurrent decimal in our country, thus worsening the alarming effects of brain drain, which in many instances have been attributable to the worsening security situation in the country,” the statement read.
The association, therefore, called on the security agencies to urgently reorganise the security architecture in the country with a focus on intelligence gathering in order to avoid these carnages across the country.
The association also recommended that the Federal Government gives strong consideration to the establishment of state police to further complement the efforts of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
“The recruitment of more security personnel and the provision of modern security gadgets and ammunition for them can’t be overemphasised,” Professor Ujah said.
The association prayed for God to grant the families of Dr Chinelo and all other victims of the very unfortunate incident, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
They also prayed for the speedy recovery of all those who sustained various forms of injuries from gunshots, while trying to escape the attack.