Kogi NGO Network, KONGONET, has condemned in all ramification the attacked on the Federal Medical Centre Lokoja by hoodlums on Wednesday.
Recall that, hoodlums numbering about fifty invaded the premises of the hospital at about 8am, armed with dangerous weapons and chasing away patients.
Sources said the hoodlums went to the administrative block of the FMC, destroyed part of the building, carted away laptops and other valuable items.
It was gathered that they also went to the revenue unit of the hospital, attacked the staff on duty and carted away an undisclosed sum of money as well as laptops.
According to sources, the hoodlums were armed with cutlasses, knives and other dangerous weapons during the attack.
KONGONET in a follow-up to her second quarter press release signed by its Chairman Idris Ozovehe Muraina
on Saturday, described the attack at the health center as unfortunate, worrisome, unexpected .
Muraina called on the law enforcement agency in the State to fish out those behind the condemnable act insisting that an attack on any health facility in the State is a threat to lives of the entire citizenry.
“We are perplexed with this shocking news that hoodlums invaded the most reliable functional health centre in Kogi State in the midst of this corona virus pandemic. It is a clear fact, that the state cannot ascertain the reality of it citizen covid-19 status even though the government of the day has maintain its stands that the state is free from the dreaded pandemic that has claimed several lives in the world.
” All we are demanding right now is that all those behind this act must be arrested and brought to book. Attacking a health facility automatically means you want to sentence the whole citizens to their early grave. How many individuals in Kogi can afford a private hospital for check up? How many of us here as we are speaking could beat his chest and say we are happy because the state have a good health care centre which would cater for our health needs? Something must be done immediately, to avert a repeat of this disgraceful attack on the state ” he stated.
On the faceoff between the Kogi State Government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, he said such is needless, warning that no body should play games with the lives of the people in Kogi State
“We continue to appreciate the fact that there exist a committee put together by the state government to provide guidance and direction on preventing the outbreak of the virus in the state, although we rarely see official statement from the committee providing updates for Kogites, we wonder if the committee is still active in the state.
“While the state government is yet to officially acknowledge COVID-19 cases in the state, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) continue to stick to its guns that Kogi State has five (5) COVID-19 cases. It is our hope that the state COVID-19 Squadron Committee will provide clarifications on the needless squabbles with NCDC while both are set up to save lives, who gets the trophy for the needless competition?
” We join the state government to call on Kogites to avoid panic and adhere to the protection guidelines as provided by NCDC. We encourage Kogites to remain strong and resolute as usual while we collectively push through this trying period of COVID 19 economic downturn. Regular hand washing, Social Distancing and the use of sanitizers still remain the most reliable preventive measures against COVID-19, Stay Safe!”
KONGONET on the other hand said apart from the corona virus pandemic which is one of the health issues confronting the world today, they are also worried on the unusual increase in public health challenges such as TB with more cases of XDR in Kogi state.
The epileptic release of funds to Kogi State Agency for the Control of Aids (KOSACA) for her planned activities according to the Chairman still remain an issue unresolved which is currently compounding the challenges of HIV/AIDS control in the state.
Muraina however while commenting on the political, environmental, social and agricultural policies of the said pointed out that “Kogi NGO Network (KONGONET) will consistently support laudable initiatives of government to ameliorate the suffering of Kogites and ensure the state upholds the tenets of democracy and fair play in her administration of our collective resources”.
