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Gunmen have abducted Tochukwu Mbanugo, a consultant neurosurgeon at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra state.
Mbanugo was kidnapped on October 30, 2025, along the New Nnewi-Oba Road.
He was said to have been on his way home after an intense day in the operating theatre.
Reacting to the abduction in a statement on Monday, the federal ministry of health expressed “profound concern” and condemned the abduction, describing it as “a direct assault on the nation’s health security and a threat to our collective wellbeing”.
“His abduction occurred at the very point where he should have been safest: returning home from serving humanity,” the statement reads.
The statement, signed by Iziaq Adekunle Salako, minister of state for health and social welfare, said the abductors later established contact with some of his colleagues through his phone.
Salako said the matter has been formally reported to the Anambra state police command, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria police anti-kidnapping squad, and the state vigilante structures.
“The management of NAUTH is actively collaborating with security agencies, the Nigerian Medical Association and relevant stakeholders to expedite his safe return,” the statement reads.
“Nigeria currently has less than 150 practising neurosurgeons serving a population of over 220 million people. Against the WHO benchmark of 1 neurosurgeon per 100,000 people, Nigeria has approximately 1 neurosurgeon per 1.9 million citizens.
“This makes every specialist we have invaluable. An attack on one specialist doctor is a direct assault on the nation’s health security and a threat to our collective wellbeing.
“Our health workforce: doctors, nurses and allied health professionals are national assets working under immense pressure to save lives. They must be protected and respected, not harmed or hunted.”
Salako urged the Anambra state government and security agencies to “intensify all efforts toward locating Dr. Mbanugo and ensuring his immediate and safe release — unharmed and unconditionally
