Nigerian Doctors Threaten Nationwide Strike Over Jail Bill

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened to launch a nationwide industrial action if the National Assembly proceeds with a bill that seeks to impose prison terms on healthcare workers for delays in emergency treatment.

The association warned on Thursday that it would not allow doctors to be “scapegoats for decades of neglect” in the healthcare sector, saying it would convene its decision-making organs to consider “all lawful options, including nationwide industrial action” if the bill passes.

The controversial bill proposes a six-month jail term or a fine of up to N300,000 for hospitals and medical personnel who fail to meet strict new timelines for emergency care.

The proposed law mandates that patients be assessed within 15 minutes of arrival and stabilised within 30 minutes.

NARD rejected the legislation, arguing that it is unjust to punish doctors for systemic failures such as lack of oxygen, unreliable electricity, and obsolete equipment.

“You cannot legislate oxygen into an empty cylinder, electricity into a dark operating theatre, or life-saving equipment into an inadequately funded hospital,” the association stated.

The doctors also criticised the political elite for prioritising punitive measures over adequate healthcare funding.

NARD proposed that lawmakers should instead pass a law compelling public officeholders to seek medical treatment in Nigerian government hospitals, rather than engaging in costly overseas medical tourism.

“It is unacceptable to punish doctors for the consequences of a healthcare system that successive governments have failed to adequately fund, equip and staff,” NARD said.

The association argued that the responsibility for fixing the system cannot be transferred to doctors through the threat of imprisonment, demanding that the government focus on funding hospitals and employing more health workers instead of building “more prisons.”