Gunmen have abducted Dr. Tochukwu Mbanugo, a consultant neurosurgeon with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) in Nnewi, Anambra State.
According to hospital sources, Dr. Mbanugo was attacked and kidnapped around Omatha Junction, Uruagu, Nnewi, shortly after performing several complex neurosurgical operations.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare confirmed the incident in a statement signed by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, describing the abduction as “deeply troubling and unacceptable.”
“His abduction occurred at the very point where he should have been safest — returning home from serving humanity,” the ministry said, adding that the kidnappers later contacted some of his colleagues using his phone.
Dr. Salako noted that the surgeon had just completed multiple life-saving procedures, including the removal of a complex brain tumour, before the attack.
The incident has been reported to the Anambra State Police Command, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, while NAUTH management and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) are collaborating with security agencies to ensure his safe release.
Salako warned that the abduction of a medical specialist represents “a direct assault on the nation’s health security and collective wellbeing,” stressing that Nigeria has fewer than 150 practising neurosurgeons for over 220 million citizens — far below the WHO benchmark of one per 100,000 people.
The Ministry condemned all attacks on health professionals and urged authorities to intensify efforts to rescue Dr. Mbanugo.
“They must be protected and respected, not harmed or hunted,” Salako said, reaffirming government solidarity with the victim’s family, NAUTH, and the medical community.
