Panic and confusion gripped the Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, Abuja, on Monday after teargas fumes reportedly fired by security operatives drifted into the hospital wards. The incident occurred as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission moved to disperse a volatile crowd of both pro and anti-El-Rufai protesters gathered near the agency’s headquarters.
The atmosphere turned chaotic when supporters of the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, flooded the area in a show of solidarity. The heavy crowd, which accompanied the former governor for his interrogation over alleged financial misappropriation, had already caused significant gridlock along the Jabi-Airport Road corridor before the situation escalated.
The fallout from the confrontation quickly shifted from the streets to the hospital corridors. As canisters were discharged to clear the area, the stinging smoke wafted into the medical facility, leaving vulnerable patients, including pregnant women and young children, gasping for air. Eyewitnesses described a heartbreaking scene where mothers were forced to use face masks and damp cloths to protect their infants from the choking fumes.
One pregnant woman, who had visited the hospital for her routine antenatal checkup, shared her harrowing experience with Reports. She described a sense of total helplessness as she struggled to breathe while her eyes burned from the chemical irritant. She noted that the panic within the hospital was palpable, with patients running into one another in a desperate bid to find pockets of clean air.
The victim raised serious concerns about the safety of having a major security headquarters situated so close to a primary health facility. She emphasized that discharging such substances in an environment filled with sick and recovering people poses a severe health risk that should have been anticipated by the authorities.
This latest drama follows a tense weekend where El-Rufai reportedly resisted an initial attempt to take him into custody at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. While the former governor remains the center of an intense corruption probe, the collateral damage at the hospital has sparked fresh debates over the methods used by law enforcement in residential and medical zones. As of late yesterday, there had been no official statement regarding the distress caused to the hospital’s patients.
