Doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, have commenced a 72-hour warning strike following the alleged assault of one of their colleagues by a patient’s relative within the hospital premises.
The industrial action, which began on Sunday, disrupted services at both FMC Owo and its Akure Annex.
The doctors insist the strike will continue until those responsible for the attack are apprehended and adequate security measures are put in place.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of an emergency general meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors, FMC Owo chapter, held on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
The communiqué, signed by the association’s President and Secretary-General, Dr Adeola Oluwadamilola and Dr Dare Aderemi, respectively, was made available to our correspondent on Monday.
The association alleged that the assaulted doctor was slapped several times and manhandled by a patient and the patient’s wife, noting that attacks on doctors had become recurrent.
It added that the latest incident was the second of its kind in the institution this year.
The doctors described the alleged assault as another example of the increasing violence faced by healthcare workers while carrying out their duties.
The communiqué read: “The Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Medical Centre Owo, convened an Emergency General Meeting on the 30th of May 2026 on account of assault on a doctor on call at the Akure Annex of the hospital.
“The doctor was assaulted by the wife of a male patient. He was slapped several times and manhandled by her and the patient. Assault on doctors has become a ‘recurring decimal’ as this is the second occasion this year.
“The congress, according to the NARD protocol, declares a 72-hour total strike which begins 8:00 am 31/05/2026. The strike will be reviewed only when adequate armed security is provided in the hospital and its annexes.”
According to the doctors, the strike would be reviewed only when the alleged attackers had been arrested, compelled to issue a public apology in a national daily of repute, and made to pay damages to the assaulted doctor.
