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Tag: Medical student

  • How pressure from security agents forced ourcaptors to release us – Abducted medical student

    How pressure from security agents forced ourcaptors to release us – Abducted medical student

    Paul Shatong, one of the 20 medical students recently set free after they were abducted by gunmen in Benue State on their way to a Catholic conference in Enugu, has thrown more light on the circumstances in which they regained their freedom after nine days in captivity. In this interview with KOLADE ADEYEMI, Shatong recalls his ordeal at the hands of the kidnappers alongside his abducted counterparts. Excerpt:

    How were you and your 19 other colleagues kidnapped in Benue State on August 15?

    We were travelling from Jos to Enugu for our annual national convention. We were together with medical students from University of Maiduguri. They came into Jos on Thursday and we took off from Jos Friday morning travelling together in one bus. Somewhere around Makurdi, we had a flat tyre around 3am and stopped to fix it. Then by 6am, we had just passed a checkpoint when a vehicle overtook our bus and started moving slowly.

    Our driver tried to overtake the vehicle but it kept blocking us. All of a sudden, we a heard a gunshot. The driver already knew there was danger, so he tried to force his way through the side of the road but the bus fell into a ditch. Before we could get down from the bus, the kidnappers had already surrounded our bus. They simply lined us up and collected all our phones. All the kidnappers were carrying AK-47 raffle. So, we thought they were armed robbers. But we later realised they were kidnappers.

    We begged them to collect our gadgets and cash so that they would leave us but they refused. They started ordering our movement as they matched us into the bush; about 27 of us including seven passengers from other vehicles. One of us was an old woman. They allowed her to go because they realised she was too weak to walk the distances.

    Some of the kidnappers were in military and police uniforms. They were guiding us through the bush and flogging us as we moved.

    After walking into the bush for about 10 minutes, they stopped and collected our shoes. They then ordered us to walk barefooted.

    Did you not run into anyone while walking through the bush?

    Each time they noticed the presence of cattle breeders in the bush, they would ask us to lie down and remain quiet until the herders were gone. They took us to one point in the bush and asked us to lie down. We obeyed, and that was when they started asking us questions: where are you from? Who are your people? And so on. They were opening our phones to check the galleries to know the kind of family you come from. Then we started moving again.

    We got to one river and they asked us to drink if we were thirsty. The water was too dirty for consumption. They warned us that if we did not drink the water, we might not have another one in the next 24 hours of trekking. We continued trekking until we came to join another group of kidnappers in the forest. They held a meeting there. They were communicating in Fulfude, but they used English and Hausa each time they wanted to talk with us their victims.

    Did they manhandle you in any way?

    We were always on the move, and there was this pattern that we always walked in a straight line, then they would fix themselves ahead up to the front. So, any time we were moving, the people at the back, they always flogged them—keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. As we moved, if you dared raise your head to look at their faces, you would receive a slap on your face.

    What about food?

    When they noticed that we were hungry, they gave us a small satchel of milk each to drink so that we would have energy to trek. On the second day, we didn’t get anything from them. The only thing we did was to keep moving. Any time we got the chance to fetch water, they gave us water in a 35cl soft drink bottle and everybody would take maybe just two gulps, and that was all for the day. So, for the first 48 hours, we never had anything apart from the soft drink. That was for the first 48 hours.

    Two days after we were kidnapped, we changed location. We were on the move throughout the day. In all the nine days we spent, there was no single night it did not rain. We would be drenched then our wet dresses would get dry and get wet again. At times, we were fed with yams they dug from people’s farms. At other times they gave us raw cassava. Sometimes they’d make fire in the middle of the night to roast these things. But the thing is any time they gave you food, it was more like a signal that you were going to trek very far. Like I told you, we were always on the move. So when they gave you food, it’s like they’re telling you that you have to work for that food because you’re going to trek and trek and trek.

    Each time they give us food, we knew we were going to suffer for the food by trekking. Remember I told you there were rail tracks that were no longer functional. You don’t see the rails there. I think the rails have been vandalized. So, that was how we walked on it in that spring, in that same space, and they kept flogging us.

    Thank God you were young people…

    We had an old man among us—the driver of the other car. I think the man is almost 70. That was how they kept on flogging us. Then it got to the point that we also started calling our people. It came to a point, the kidnappers decided to release us.

    How did that happen?

    We didn’t know what transpired between them and their leaders. They just asked us to go in a particular direction and they left and disappeared into the forest. They showed us a path and asked us to follow it, telling us that after walking for 30 minutes, we would see a market. So, we began the journey. But our legs were badly injured because we had no shoes on. Our toes were bruised, and we had many injuries on our legs. We managed to keep walking.

    As we continued, we noticed that there was no sign of seeing anything. We kept managing to move forward even though none of us could move properly anymore. We were just lying there, helpless.

    Miraculously, someone from the University of Maiduguri had his phone with him all this while. He said he had hidden it in his underwear when they were taking our phones. He brought out the phone when we started walking on the railway and initially tried to access our location with Google Maps, but there was no network at that time. So we continued walking on the railway, just managing to hold ourselves together. We were also helping to carry the old man among us.

    I was the person with him, particularly, and we were at the end of the queue. We tried to move as fast as we could, but we were still very slow because of our injuries. The person with the phone kept checking to see if he could get a connection, but there was still no network. We eventually reached a point where we were able to get a little network, about two hours later, around 9 PM.

    We realised we were not getting anywhere, even though we kept walking. That was when I told you that one of us was a daughter of the person negotiating with them. We asked her to call her father, hoping for something positive. She called him and said ‘Sir, we’ve been released, but the captors have left us. We don’t know where we are. We tried using Google Maps, but there is no network in this bush.”

    At least you were happy that they had released you…

    Even in the bush, we were still worried. We wondered what if they had set a trap for us and we thought they had let us go only to appear in front of us again, knowing we had nowhere to go? We kept hearing voices and noises, like people rearing cattle. So we tried to stay as quiet as possible. We told the man that we didn’t know where we were, so he linked us up with the security people. We kept moving until we saw them calling us.

    They asked us where we were and told us to send our location via Google Maps, but we explained that there was no network in the bush. We had no choice but to keep moving. Around 10 pm, nobody could move anymore, so we all just lay down on the rail track, discussing and negotiating what to do next. We considered having those with torches continue ahead to locate the market and then come back for us, but we decided against it.

    Read Also: How medical student rescued from kidnappers cheated death twice

    The security people were still trying to locate us. They told us that if we saw a light in the sky, we should let them know. As they got closer, we started seeing the light, and we asked them to flash it on and off so we could confirm it was them. They did, and we knew it was them. They kept getting closer, and around 11pm, they finally reached us. They helped carry us out; some on their backs and others in other ways.

    Even on motorcycles, it took about three hours to reach the place where the car was parked. We had to wait for at least two hours already, and even then, when it was almost three hours, we had to continue to the stop. The motorcycle riders itself took a while. Eventually, we reached the camp.

    Why do you think the kidnappers let you people off when they did?

    I mentioned the fact it was done in batches. According to what they told us, when they tracked their calls, the plan was that if they paid the N50 million, they would release us in batches. So, when the first batch was released, the captors tried to tell us what had been happening. They said if our relatives had paid the N50 million, they would release five, create the restriction again, and then release another batch. That was the plan.

    However, when the leader and six others went to town to collect the ransom, that was when they were arrested. Some of their leaders were also arrested in Borno or somewhere along with their family members. So, they were pressured to call the remaining captors in the bush to release us. I think it was at gunpoint or something. In any case, they were forced to release us. I don’t know how exactly it happened because I wasn’t there. But that’s what they told us. When they went to collect the ransom, the leader was arrested and the captors were affected. The others took some money, maybe some money, and went into hiding.

    After our eventual release, when the security people finally reached us, they took the 27 of us, or was it 25, out of the bush on motorcycles. When we reached the point where everyone was exhausted, that was when they came to get us.

    So you don’t think that a N50 million ransom was paid for your release?

    As far as we know, we don’t know whether any N50 million ransom was actually paid. It was when they went to collect the ransom that their oga (leader) was arrested. Then the other kidnappers saw that their lives were in danger and immediately released two more people. I think the leader was pressured to speak to them, especially since they arrested their leaders in Borno and somewhere else. Their family members were arrested too, so they were under a lot of pressure to release us. They called the others in the bush and forced them to release us.

  • ‘How I bagged 23 awards as best graduating medical student’

    ‘How I bagged 23 awards as best graduating medical student’

    • By Abdulrasheed Akere

    A 24-year-old woman,  Sumayyah Abdallah  was the best graduating medical student of the 2022/2023 academic session as she bagged 23 awards in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS).

    She also went home with cash prizes at the medical students’ induction held at the university’s auditorium on December 09, 2023. She recalled that  about 140 of them  started the academic journey far back in 2015 but only 79 were inducted.

    This mother of one who hails from Agaie, Niger State,  got married in 2021.

    “Marriage affected my studies positively, it gave me more motivation and determination than ever. It made me more focused on achieving my goals,” she said.

    For students pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, or MBBS, grades are used to measure their performance, not Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Sumayyah said she had so many good grades that made her achieve the feat.

    Read Also: Akeredolu was a patriot, Mimiko mourns

     She expressed her excitement about the achievement. “Alhamdulillah, I feel really happy, seeing the smiles on my parents’ faces and their tears of joy is the most satisfying feeling in the whole wide world.”

    I faced challenges — Sumayyah

    “I faced challenges but challenges are part of life, and we are not as perfect as the picture you see, I was scared at some point in time,” she said. Having a baby in medical school, especially while carrying the nine months pregnancy and taking care of the child after delivery was strenuous for her. This was because she had to read, go to lectures, and sit for many tests. While in 400-level, she wrote several C.A tests on hospital bed.

    Sumayyah almost gave up her dream to be a doctor, but she kept  going. Her parents’ hard work, dedication, and unflinching support as well as her siblings’ encouragement to her are what pushed her to never give up.

    “Thanks to my husband and my little Zayd too, we went through it all together,” she added.

    Avoid overconfidence

    Sumayyah advised undergraduates to stay humble, avoid overconfidence, and avoid too many friends. “What is worth doing is worth doing well. Most importantly, pray as if you’ve never read anything and read as if you’ve never prayed.”

  • Death of medical student: NURTW member bag 25 year jail term

    Death of medical student: NURTW member bag 25 year jail term

    Justice Munta Abimbola of the Oyo State High Court has sentenced a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, Mr. Akinwumi Adisa, to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour while he discharged four other accused persons. The accused persons were standing trial for the 2102 killing of Anwal Bala Shannon, a 500 level medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, at Iwo road area of Ibadan, the state capital.
    While Olumide Oladeji, Sadeeq Adejide and Tajudeen Arowotosuna, the second, third and fourth accused respectively, were set free after the long trial that started in 2012, Adisa was not so unlucky as the trial judge found him guilty of the offense. It would be recalled that on the night of June 4, 2011 at about 9:30pm, some factional members of the Union, in a struggle to take over the control of Iwo Road motor park from the another faction shot sporadically into the crowd. In the ensuing melee, four persons were reportedly killed including Shannon.
    The deceased, who was the President of the Medical Student Association of Nigeria, was in company of his colleagues who were returning from a programme at Osogbo to take a bus to Zaria. They were in the Iwo-road Motor park to board the Zaria bus when Anwal was shot.
    Apart from the people killed, shops, vehicles and valuable property were also burnt down by the hoodlum
    During proceedings, the second and third accused persons denied being at the scene of the crime on the said date. The third accused also brought two witnesses, his wife and a former federal lawmaker, to substantiate his claims. The federal lawmaker, Hon. Gbedemuke, who corroborated Arowotosuna’s claim, told the court that the accuse was enroute Abuja to honour an invitation to attend a burial ceremony at the time of the incident.
    In his judgment, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta, who discharged and acquitted the 2nd, 3rd and 4th accused persons on the ground that there was nothing linking them to the mayhem or the scene, however sentenced the 1st accused to a 25-year jail term. The 1st accused had told the court that he was at the scene of incidence but denied participating in the crime.

  • Kidney failure: Medical student seeks help

    Kidney failure: Medical student seeks help

    A THIRD year medical student, Olaoluwa Oluwamuyiwa, (Dr Lulu) who is down with renal failure has appealed to Nigerians to help save his life.

    Born on February 16, 1988, 28-year old Oluwamuyiwa hails from Ondo State from a small family of four, comprising his parents, himself and his younger sister.

    Dr Lulu, as he is fondly called, began to experience difficulties in pursuit of his childhood dream to become a medical doctor in the year 2000 when his father lost his job. Shortly after, he had a ghastly accident that made him unconscious for several months. Since then, he has been unable to fully use his legs.

    Undeterred by the challenge, Dr Lulu travelled to Ukraine to study medicine, but had to abandon the study owing to financial difficulty and come back to Nigeria.

    Not one to give up on his dream, he soon packed his baggage and headed for China to study medicine again. He is currently in his third year.

    However, Dr Lulu now faces a major life challenge as he is suffering from renal failure. He is currently undergoing dialysis pending the time he will be able to raise the N7m required for a kidney transplant.

    His family is appealing for assistance from good spirited Nigerians and corporate organisations to help raise the funds. He undergoes three dialysis sessions every week at the cost of N60,000, with his friends and family helping him run around to raise the fees.

    You can help keep Dr Lulu alive by donating to OLUWAMUYIWA OLAOLUWA OYINDE’s account no. 0108134961 at GUARANTEE TRUST BANK.

    Enquiries can also be made via telephone numbers 08177356420 (OLAOLUWA) or 08036607719 and 08029140079 (Dr Lulu’s father).

  • BSU medical student did not commit suicide

    SIR: Since the death of Idoko Nicholas, a 400 Level medical student of the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi in a ghastly motor accident on Friday, July 24, there has been growing controversy surrounding his death and protests were held by his colleagues to show their discontent.

    Nicholas has spent well over 10 years as a medical student in the university. That is the lot of all the medical students of that institution. Since the inception of medical studies, no student has graduated. Plans are only on the way to graduate the first set of students later this year. That will however be possible only when the final accreditation team pays a visit.

    The policy in the college is that a student who fails an examination will have to re-sit such examination within three months. However, the new provost said the college does not have money to conduct such examinations within three months. It made it an annual exercise. Nicholas had issues with Pharmacology and Pathology. He wrote the exams a few weeks ago, and the result came out negative and was therefore withdrawn from studying medicine. After 10 years? It is frustrating!

    Despite his seeming frustration, Nicholas remained his vivacious self. There was no dull moments when he was around, and he tried not to foul such atmosphere with his problems. That unfortunate day, he visited his friend and there was no sign he was going to die in few hours time. They joked, discussed and words of encouragement were shared. In fact, his friends mother called him (Nicholas) that day and encouraged him.

    He made to leave, to go get something. His friend asked him to stay longer, but he insisted on leaving.

    While on the International Market road in Makurdi, he tried to avoid a truck which was parked beside the road, and then the unfortunate happened. He was thrown out of his car through the windscreen.

    I spoke several times yesterday with his friends and colleagues. One thing that featured in my conversation with them, is that Idoko Nicholas was not suicidal. He did NOT kill himself. The protest held on Friday and Saturday was aimed at  bringing the plight of medical students to the fore, and not because Nicholas killed himself. Their protest paid off, as the Vice Chancellor has cancelled any form of withdrawal.

    It is unfortunate Idoko Nicholas had to die for a new policy to be implemented. He was martyred for his colleagues in the medical school

    Yes, Idoko was probably distracted by his problems while driving, but he Did NOT kill himself.

    It shows lack of consideration for his grieving family and friends, if we continue to allude his death to suicide.

    Finally, I urge the management of Benue State University to take issues affecting their students with the seriousness it deserves. Students of the medical school have all been making motion without movement. That is unfair. Let it do what is required to ensure medical students graduate and move on with life, instead of just keeping them there.

     

    • Frank Ijege

    frankijege@yahoo.com

  • Medical student challenges bank

    Medical student challenges bank

    The President of the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Students Association (COMPSSA), University of Lagos, Olugbemiga Folasade, threw a challenge to Access Bank Plc on Tuesday to support in equipping laboratories at the College of Medicine.

    Folasade, a 600-Level student of Medicine and Surgery, spoke at an orientation for the 200-Level students who were being welcomed to the college from the UNILAG main campus.

    Access Bank had donated laboratory coats to the new students at the occasion held at the New Great Hall of the medical college located in Idi-Araba and promised to sustain the gesture yearly.  Over 700 students got the coats.

    “We thank Access Bank for providing the coats, which we will wear to the laboratories; but Access Bank can do much more for the labs as well,” he said.

    Responding, the Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe, assured the students and the college management that the bank would rise to the challenge.

    “We will take up the challenge. We will go and discuss and we will come back,” Wigwe replied.

    He had earlier said that the bank was committed to ensuring they had access to financial support if they would tap into it.

    He urged them to be focused on their training so they can address some of the challenges in the nation’s healthcare sector.

    “Medical sciences is a very critical aspect of nation building.  We record high mortality rate…a lot of which can be resolved with good quality healthcare.  You have a bright future.  Don’t look at the challenges in the country; you can really contribute,” he said.

    The bank was presented with a plaque by the Provost of the college, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, who said that apart from distributing the lab coats, Access Bank had donated an alumni centre to the university.

    In her address to the new students, Prof Ogunsola said that they come into training at a time Nigeria is in need for quality healthcare professionals.  She urged them to be committed to their studies as the demands would be very high.  However, she assured them of the faculty’s support every step of the way.

    She said: “You are our hope.  We cannot do anything about the past; but we can do about the future and we will work you hard.  Today, buckle down, pull up your socks and start work.  We expect from you 150 per cent for your school work.

    “This first year is so critical many students don’t pass.  We will walk the road with you.  We already see you as our colleagues and we hope that you can stand on our shoulders to surpass our achievements.”

    Dr Ogunsola led the students through the white coat ceremony in which they unbuttoned the coats and wore them.  She said it symbolized that they understood the privilege of working for humanity.

    On his part, the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof Chris Bode, counseled the students to enjoy every bit of what they have to learn.

     

  • Medical student turns artist

    Medical student turns artist

    His first love is  in the health care profession but driven by an inner passion and love for the arts, a young medical student now ekes a living from painting, writes DANIEL ESSIET. 

    Etiobhio Samuel Osemudiamen,  a 23 year-old final year medical student of University of Benin (UNIBEN), may be pursuing a career in the medical profession, but he has another love.

    From a very young age, he had fallen in love with the arts, especially painting. And as his passion  grew, he began to realise the potential in the vocation.

    Today, he not only earns income from painting, more than enough to take care of some of his needs on campus, he is also imparting knowledge in other students that are interested in painting.

    For Osemudiamen, the journey into the world of arts began with N2, 000 with which he bought some paints and materials and began to draw.

    His experience with digital art keeps him connected to modern art as he continues his practice, while still studying medicine. Taking the stage at several events,Ose, as he is fondly called by his peers, has  not only taken people on his journey, his paint strokes create a vibrant image and also inspires people to think about innovation, taking success to the next level and living the dream.

    He has been selling art work consistently since his junior high school years. He paints, frames and sells them. He peeks inside a few galleries for more concepts whenever he can steal a moment between classes, and painting.

    In 2012, Ose established a studio, Magnum Arts,to encourage and bring out the intellectual capability in young Nigerians using fine art, and painting in general. Members feature in trainingsthat help them refine their products and increase customer acquisition. The ideas and solutions showcased by young people  not only address real customer needs and issues, but  also help in the creation of local jobs and serving young people in realising financial independence. As an artist, Ose combines his two passions to demonstrate the journey for his entrepreneurship endeavour, while also providing motivation to others.

    In the last two years, Ose  has created  online hub for lovers of arts and artists to meet, discuss and interact through sharing of ideas relevant to their field. The platform also offers a marketplace for them to showcase and sell their creations to lovers locally and across the world.

    His latest achievement is an art blogging competition involving budding  arts entrepreneurs and students.

    So far, he has gotten responses from different universities and outfits round the country and people really want the competition to be more popularised.

    His entrepreneurial achievements are becoming valuable pacesetters. This year, the club has recorded  N350,000 as  net  profit from its activities.