By Dayo Johnson
AKURE—MEDICAL doctors in Ondo State, yesterday, made good their threat to down tools over the kidnap of a wife of their colleague, Mrs Idowu Ogunleye who was abducted in her residence in Akure weeks ago as they embarked on strike

Under the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA,  they said the strike action was to register their protests against the State and Federal Government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the plight of the Ogunleye and medical doctors in the country.

The Association had on Sunday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the State Government “within which to secure the release of the wife of a Saudi Arabia- based gynaecologist, Dr Idowu Ogunleye, Idowu Juliana, who was kidnapped in her house around Ijoka area of Akure by three armed bandits.

In a Save Our Soul letter addressed to Governor Olusegun Mimiko and signed by Dr Adetan Oluwatoyin and Dr I. J Adebose, the chairman and the secretary respectively, lamented that the latest case was the second involving wives of senior medical practitioners in the state with an intention of extorting money.

The Association copied the Commissioner of Police, Director of State Security Service, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chairman, Health Management Board and CMD, Federal Medical Centre, Owo.

Sequel to the expiration of the ultimatum on Monday and Mrs Ogunleye still in captivity, the doctors decided to withdraw their services both in the government and privately-owned hospitals across the state.

In a statement titled “Withdrawal of service”, the doctors said the action was sequel to the kidnap of Mrs Ogunleye with the intention of extorting money from the family.

It reads, “doctors under the aegis of NMA have decided to proceed on a withdrawal of service on Tuesday and Wednesday 7th and 8th to register our protest. We do hope that the State, Federal and all security agencies in Ondo State will take urgent steps to secure the immediate release of the kidnapped woman and put an end to this dastardly occurrence in the future, so that doctors will be provided with a conducive environment to continue to contribute our quota to humanity and the development of the state.”

According to them, the abduction of Mrs Ogunleye brought to two, the relations of medical doctors who had been victims of kidnappers.’