Protest forces police to release nurses arrested for treating ‘stranger’ in Cross River

CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – There was commotion in Calabar, Cross River State capital, following the arrest and detention of three nurses by the Nigeria Police Force.

The nurses, simply identified as Joy, Mary, and Deborah, arrested on Monday, were released on Tuesday after nurses from the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) stormed the streets in a protest.

According to CrossRiverWatch, the three nurses were arrested in connection with a stranger brought to the hospital by a good Samaritan for treatment.

The nurses, working at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Hospital, were mandated to provide care after a Doctor had treated the said stranger, who later died.

After the death of the patient, a relative reported SIM card theft, leading to the arrest of the three nurses.

“The good Samaritan saw the patient helpless on the street and brought him to the hospital, and left him there. Our colleagues provided care, but he passed on, unfortunately.

Later, his relative came to claim his things and said the SIM card in his phone was missing. However, the nurses told them that what the good Samaritan brought was what they were giving to him,” one of the staff claimed.

According to the report, the deceased relative claimed that the SIM card was missing while collecting his belongings. However, another said the SIM was removed from the deceased’s phone to call his relatives.

Meanwhile, the Samaritan reportedly found the deceased by the roadside, already weak, before bringing him to the hospital

Following the complaint by the deceased’s relatives, the police swung in and arrested the three nurses in connection with the SIM card.

Following the arrest, other nurses, numbering about 100, mobilised, shut down activities in the hospital, protesting ward by ward before moving to the hospital main gate and then to the Cross River State Police Command.

The aggrieved nurses demanded the unconditional release of their colleagues, saying “Nurses Save Lives, Stop The Harassment, Nurses Are Not Criminals” in one of the placards.

Shortly after, the police released the detained nurses.