Medical union condemns killing of health workers in Nigeria's Kano State

ABUJA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) on Tuesday condemned the recent killing of nine health workers in the northwestern state of Kano, describing it as senseless murder.

National president of the union Ayuba Wabba lamented the gruesome killing of the nine female health workers while confirming the death of another victim of the attack on Tuesday morning. He noted the female health workers volunteered out of goodwill to be anti-polio vaccinators in the northern Nigeria state.

"It's a pity one of the victims, a lady, who was fatally injured has also passed on at the hospital. This tragic incident further points to the need for the government to decisively curb insurgency in this country," he said, adding the medical union has vowed to seek justice and support the government to bring all perpetrators of the killing to book.

Wabba said, however, the medical union members now feel deterred to continue working under circumstances in which their lives are threatened in different parts of the country. "We make bold to say this is not about religion, but about the lives of Nigerians and its continuity as a united entity. Health workers across the country stand for one united Nigeria," he said.

According to the medical official, the union has made necessary plans to ameliorate the pains of the bereaved families and also immortalize the members who were attacked while carrying out their duties.

"These women were brought down in the prime of their lives, while serving their fatherland and the cause of the future generation of this country, as part of the team participating at the national immunization program aimed at kicking out polio," he noted.

The victim who died on Tuesday and nine of her colleagues, who died earlier, were attacked by gunmen on Feb. 8 while conducting anti-polio vaccination at two health facilities in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, according to local police.

State police spokesperson Musa Majia told Xinhua that the gunmen, who came on tricycles, shot dead three women in the Fijin Kashu area of the state and injured three others. Another group of gunmen attacked the Hayen Hotoro health center, killing six other women working as anti-polio vaccinators in the northern state.

Kano State has witnessed waves of violence often claimed by the militant sect of Boko Haram. Thousands of people have been killed in northern and central parts of Nigeria since the sect launched insurgency in 2009.

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