NARD Rejects Bill Seeking Jail Term, Fine Over Emergency Treatment Delays

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected a proposed amendment to the National Health Act seeking to impose a six-month jail term or a fine of up to ₦300,000 on healthcare professionals and facilities over delays in emergency treatment and referral.
The bill has reportedly passed second reading in the Senate, but NARD said the National Assembly was criminalising the victims of a broken health system instead of addressing its underlying failures.
In a statement dated November 5, 2026, and signed by its president, Dr Ogar Emmanuel Idoko; secretary-general, Dr Besongngem Akotanchi; and publicity secretary, Dr Ashimom Timothy, the association said it was unacceptable to punish doctors for a system that successive governments had failed to fund, equip and staff.
“Fund our hospitals, equip our facilities, employ more health workers, provide constant electricity, and strengthen emergency services; not more prisons,” the association said.
NARD added, “You cannot legislate oxygen into an empty cylinder, electricity into a dark operating theatre, or life-saving equipment into an inadequately funded hospital.”
Systemic Failures
The association said doctors work under extremely difficult conditions in hospitals plagued by obsolete equipment, inadequate staffing, unreliable electricity, insufficient emergency supplies and deteriorating infrastructure.
It argued that these challenges were not products of professional negligence but consequences of longstanding institutional neglect.
NARD challenged lawmakers to show the same urgency in ensuring adequate funding, functional emergency departments, modern equipment, uninterrupted electricity, reliable ambulance services and sufficient personnel.
It noted that Nigeria still falls short of the 15 per cent health budget allocation prescribed under the Abuja Declaration.
Challenge To Lawmakers
In a direct challenge to federal lawmakers, NARD said that if imprisonment was the appropriate response to health system failures, the National Assembly should first consider legislation compelling public officeholders to seek treatment in Nigerian government hospitals.
It also called for sanctions against the misuse of public resources on avoidable overseas medical tourism.
“Those entrusted with funding and overseeing our hospitals must demonstrate confidence in the same healthcare system they expect ordinary Nigerians to depend upon,” the association said.
NARD warned that additional criminal penalties could accelerate the brain drain, popularly known as the japa syndrome, at a time Nigeria is struggling to retain its medical workforce.
Call For Withdrawal
While acknowledging that the bill recognises resource limitations, NARD insisted that such safeguards must be explicit, comprehensive and enforceable to ensure that doctors are never punished for institutional failures, unavailable equipment, inadequate staffing or circumstances beyond their control.
The resident doctors therefore called for the withdrawal and reconsideration of the punitive provisions, with consultation involving professional associations, hospital administrators, patient representatives and other stakeholders.
They urged the National Assembly to prioritise legislation guaranteeing adequate funding, minimum emergency-care standards, appropriate staffing, reliable electricity, functional referral systems and accountability for institutional failures.