Civil society actors on the ground in Kogi State where violent attack on the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja took place last week have called for a probe of the incident, suggesting a Judge of Federal High Court status to head it. This, according to the NGO – Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, (CHRCR) is to reveal the immediate and remote causes of attack on the medical facility as well as punish the perpetrators, individuals or institutions.
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CHRCR is particularly tasking the Inspector General of Police “not to let the people of Kogi State and Nigeria down at this crucial hour of need”, saying the attack should not have happened.
Wondering what could have led to what it is describing as madness and act of hooliganism, the NGO says the more worrisome dimension is the response from the Kogi State Government whose understanding of incident as a fall-out of non-attention to a patient it says lacks scientific and medical proof.
It rather puts the attack on the FMC to uneasy relationship between the state government and the centre since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the government of adding no value to medical infrastructure in the state in spite of billion in statutory allocations, the bailout funds, Infrastructural refund money and internally generated revenue. CHRCR questions the announcement by the Kogi State Government in the aftermath of the attack directing whoever was rejected at the FMC, Lokoja to go to the specialist Hospital, also in Lokoja, arguing that the Specialist Hospital has not been equipped to take over the services of Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.
