By STELLA KABRUK

The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives Federal Health Institutions Sector (NANNM FHI) said Tuesday it was heartbroken over the killing of Nurse Chinemerem Chukwumeziem of Federal Medical Centre Jabi Abuja.

In a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), National Secretary Enya Osinachi condemned the murder and urged urgent action to protect nurses facing rising insecurity nationwide.

Osinachi said the nurse ended her afternoon shift, cared for patients devotedly, boarded public transport home, but never arrived, becoming a victim of violent criminal attacks days into the new year.

She said the association viewed the killing as evidence of worsening insecurity threatening healthcare workers, particularly nurses enduring long shifts and unsafe commutes after duty hours daily across many Nigerian cities.

NANNM FHI condemned the act, expressed solidarity with the victim’s family and colleagues, and said sympathy was insufficient without concrete government measures guaranteeing nurses’ safety nationwide in hospitals, clinics, and communities.

The association urged authorities to investigate thoroughly, arrest perpetrators, improve security around hospitals and routes, provide staff transport, and recognise nurses as high risk essential workers through policy reforms, funding, and enforcement.

It also sought better hazard allowances, life insurance, welfare support for families, and regular security risk assessments to prevent further loss of nurses’ lives nationwide across public health facilities, routes, and communities.

Osinachi said nurses were essential caregivers and breadwinners, noting that the nation loses patients, morale, and public trust when they are killed, and urged decisive action to ensure the death becomes a turning point. (NAN)