IGP: Please Stop The Wanton Wasting Of The Lives Of Pharmacists

The PSN with great sense of loss and deep pain demands a stop to the gruesome murder of pharmacists in the line of duty and swift unraveling of those behind the murder of her member, Late Pharm Sunday C. Ike who was shot on the head at his practice, Suncel Pharmacy Ltd, 3rd Avenue Gwarimpa in Abuja on 19th June, 2020.

Pharm Ike met his death at his duty post, where he laboured daily against all odds, to provide pharmaceutical care to the people of that area. His is just one in the harvest of murders within 5 years. Late Pharm Austin Chukwurah (Rivers State), Pharm Ternenge Labe (Benue State) and Pharm Anthony Mgbii (Akwa Ibom State) also met their untimely deaths at the line of duty.

Community Pharmacists are frontline health care workers providing pharmaceutical care; responsible provision of essential medicines, chronic disease and drug therapy management to Nigerians in their respective communities. They strive daily to keep Nigeria safe and healthy but at the end, some criminal elements in the community they served, turned cruel and snuffed life out of them in their prime.

Could it be money that would keep a pharmacist away from his home and family at such times these evil men cash on? The answer is no, but the sense of duty. Pharmacies are supposed to offer 24hours service but for the insecurity in our country. If data were available it will be amazing how many lives that are lost because pharmacies are closed at some point in the day.

Consequent upon these, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria requests the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to immediately take up and strengthen the investigation already initiated by the FCT Police Command as the earlier killings cited were equally incidented at the respective state police commands but no culprit has been brought to justice till date. Sir, we urge you to please find the killers of Pharm Sunday Ike and bring them to justice.

Also Pharmacists who provide over 60% of primary care in the community need to be protected if they will continue to do the good job of quality pharmaceutical care.

The IGP should as a matter of urgency instruct the state Commissioners of Police to set up special patrol/surveillance to community pharmacies to ensure the safety of Pharmacists and other health workers who have suffered immeasurable hardship in the hands of these undesirable elements.

Nigeria cannot afford the retreat of Pharmacists on the frontline especially now that the war against COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be won.

Pharm Ijeoma Okey-Ewurum

National Publicity Secretary

Could there be a hidden murderous gang waging a war of death against some professionals or the killings were happenstance and black coincidence of armed banditry? But in the words of Frank J. Loesch, “things like this can happen only in a city where there is an active alliance between crime and politics.” Whatever the case, let’s join hands and say, “enough is enough.”