By Patrick Ochei
The Nigerian Medical Association, Delta State Chapter has condemned the report of the Nigeria Police Force alluding the death of a medical practitioner, Dr. Uyi Iluobe in Oghara, Delta State as cult related, insisting that their colleague was a responsible medical personnel and not a cultist.
This counter claim and more revealing information were made available to newsmen during a press conference by the medical body at the NUJ Press Centre in Asaba.
Briefing the press, the Vice Chairman of NMA Delta State, Dr Okwuze Anthony condemned in strong term the hasty report by the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Police, insisting that such investigation was not thoroughly conducted and could not have represented the true position of things.
Okwuze called on the Police to do a thorough investigation and ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book.
Giving an account of their interrogations at the scene of murder, with the wife of the deceased and meeting with the Commissioner of Police, the NMA Vice Chairman said the Association would not have any other option but to down tool if the needful was not done to bring justice to their deceased colleague.
Further calling on the government and general public to help in unraveling the mysteries behind the incessant attacks on medical personnel, the NMA made the following categorical demands:
1. The NMA Delta State branch charges the security agencies to double up their efforts in bringing the perpetrators of this dastardly act to book speedily.
2. We charge the Delta State Police Command to as a matter of urgency, investigate thoroughly the issues of threat to life of the deceased from the previously treated and discharged gun shot victim sometime in October, who allegedly threatened the doctor.
3. We urge the Delta State Command to leave no stone unturned in unravelling the remote cause of the murder and speedily bring the perpetrators to book.
In addition, the Secretary of NMA, Dr Oge Great Nwokwule implored the Executive Governor of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa to do everything necessary to assist the family of the deceased and the entire medical community in getting justice.
Recall that Dr Uyi Iluobe, who was the Medical Director of Olive Medical Centre, Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, was murdered by yet to be identified gunmen while attending to an accomplice to the assassins pretending to be a patient on 29th December, 2022.
Pix of Dr Uyi Iluobe
From the eye witness account as stated by NMA, the deceased was called to attend to an emergency in his clinic, and on getting there, the lady patient in question purportedly presented a severe abdominal pains.
But while examining her on the couch, the lady made a call to an unknown person, telling him “I dey there make una come”. And when asked, she said it was the people that would pay the bill when the doctor must have been done with the treatment.
Moreover, the next event was the arrival of unidentified gunmen who ordered everybody around to lie down, went straight to the doctor, shot him twice in the chest and left with the lady in a black Toyota Salon car with tinted glasses.
