The Nigerian Medical Association has condemned the murder of Dr Chike Akunyili, the husband of the late Dora Akunyili, describing it as an indication of a misplaced value system in Nigeria where life does not matter anymore.

Dr Akunyili, a renowned Enugu-based medical practitioner, was shot dead by gunmen on Wednesday while on his way from the commemorative lecture in honour of his late wife.

The National Publicity Secretary of NMA, Dr Aniekeme Uwah, in a statement titled, ‘One Death Too Many: We Weep For Nigeria,’ issued on Friday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, wondered why such a skilled professional would be murdered at a period Nigeria was almost bleeding to death as a result of the brain drain syndrome.

Uwah, who said the NMA was awaiting the outcome of official investigations by security agencies, urged the federal and state governments to live up to their constitutional responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians.

The NMA called on the security agencies “to do everything humanly possible to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book to serve as a deterrent to others.”

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The association said, “The Nigerian Medical Association is deeply saddened by the gruesome murder in cold blood of one of her members, Dr Chike J Akunyili (Agbalanze), the widower of the late Prof Dora Akunyili, a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

“While the association awaits an official statement on investigations being conducted on the incidence by relevant security agencies, reports gathered from various news media indicate that this tragic incident occurred while the victim was on his way from the commemorative lecture in honour of his late wife, Dora.’’

“This condemnable incidence at a moment when the country has an abysmally low doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:6000 as against the WHO’s recommended 1:600 is an indication of our misplaced value system as a people where human lives are not valued anymore.”