Nigerian Nurse Attacked On Way Home From Work As Belfast Anti-Immigrant Violence Erupts

A Nigerian nurse has been struck on the head with a stone by anti-immigrant protesters in Belfast, while still wearing her hospital uniform.

Chinonso Uche, who has worked as a nurse in Northern Ireland for five years, was targeted while walking home from her shift as riots swept across the city. She says she now wants to leave the country.

“There is no safety for us — that is the truth,” she told the Irish News.
The unrest was triggered on June 8, 2026, when Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, allegedly stabbed Stephen Ogilvie, 40, multiple times in the face, back, and neck on a Belfast street. Bystanders beat back the attacker with a hurling stick until police arrived. Ogilvie lost his left eye.

The attack unleashed a wave of violence across Northern Ireland. Protesters set cars and houses ablaze and turned on foreign nationals, including healthcare workers like Uche.

When she shared her story online, the response was brutal. “It was ‘Ireland is tired of immigrants, you should go back home,’” she said. “Nobody cares what you do, even though they know I’m a nurse.”

Uche had a pointed message for those demanding migrants leave: “Ask yourselves who will look after your elderly parents.”

Northern Ireland’s health service is heavily dependent on foreign-trained staff.