Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), has narrated how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly stormed his office, dragged him out and arrested him.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Ekpe, who is also
the deputy chairman of the hospital’s medical advisory committee, said the
incident occurred while he was processing a response to an EFCC inquiry over a
medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.
He said the anti-graft agency had requested verification of
the report, prompting him to review the document alongside the head of the
hospital’s internal medicine department.
“The head of that internal medicine department looked at the
report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report
is not a member of staff of that department,” Ekpe said.
The professor of cardiothoracic surgery added that following
the findings, he prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026.
He said an EFCC operative visited his office the next
morning to collect the document.
“I told him that the response was ready in draft. I showed
him the draft,” he said.
The doctor said he informed the operative that the document
still needed approval from the chief medical director (CMD) of the hospital
before it could be officially signed and released.
“He pretended to have accepted that,” Ekpe said, adding that
the officer later returned with another armed operative and informed him that
he was under arrest.
“I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical
report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my
unit,” he said.
Ekpe alleged that the operatives refused to allow him to
wait for a staff member he had sent on an errand before taking him away.
“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the
office,” he said.
The surgeon said he cried out while being dragged,
attracting hospital workers to the scene.
He said the operatives prevented him from speaking or making
calls, making it impossible for him to explain the situation to colleagues who
gathered around.
He said members of staff of the hospital initially blocked
the operatives from taking him away, after which reinforcement was allegedly
called in.
“I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the
protector, threatening the people that were around,” he said.
Ekpe said some staff members were beaten before he and four
others were forced into an EFCC van, adding that tear gas and live ammunition
were fired during the chaos that followed within the hospital premises.
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