Employees of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Enugu successfully thwarted an abduction attempt on the Medical Director, Dr. Monday Igwe. On Thursday afternoon, three imposing individuals arrived at the facility in an unmarked Toyota Siena vehicle and headed directly to the medical director’s office. According to a source within the hospital, their intention was to forcibly remove Dr. Igwe from his office. However, concerned workers inquired about their purpose, prompting them to sound an alarm that drew the attention of other staff members. The hospital’s security personnel subsequently secured the entrance and exit gates, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the premises.
During this time, a call was made to the New Haven Police Division, and the Divisional Police Officer promptly arrived at the scene with his team. It was then that the suspected abductors revealed themselves as police officers from the Zone 13 Command in Ukpo, Anambra State. They asserted that they had come to apprehend the medical director based on an alleged petition against him.
This explanation did not sit well with the outraged workers, who questioned the covert manner in which they attempted to take their boss away. As tensions escalated, the DPO reportedly escorted the men to the Area Commander, who reprimanded them for not adhering to police operational protocols.
The matter was subsequently escalated to the Commissioner of Police, who cautioned the individuals involved regarding their operational methods and tactics.
A representative from one of the unions in the hospital disclosed that the acting Principal of the School of Post-Basic Psychiatric Nursing, Afam Ndu, was purportedly the instigator of the petition. The union representative expressed bewilderment over why this particular staff member had been embroiled in various conflicts within the hospital over the past 13 years, alleging that he had purportedly enlisted the services of fictitious civil society organizations to destabilize the institution.
Both the police and the Medical Director of the institution declined to comment on the matter.