Activities at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, UUTH, Akwa Ibom State, were brought to a halt on Tuesday, May 12, following the attempted arrest and eventual arrest of Prof. Effiong Ekpe and three other staff members of the hospital by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Uyo Zonal Office.
It was gathered that EFCC officials, while attempting to arrest Prof. Ekpe, who is the Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, CMAC, on a court warrant, met resistance from other staff members of the hospital, while the hospital security also locked the gate, barring their exit from the facility.
It was further gathered that the operatives called for backup as the atmosphere became tense before the police arrived.
Following the incident, Dr. Aniekan Peters, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, directed doctors across the state to immediately shut down services, while JOHESU leaders also declared a total hospital shutdown in protest against what they described as an inhumane and barbaric act.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Gabriel Eyo, said the action of the EFCC was an onslaught on the hospital and its workers.
Eyo said it was wrong for a professor of cardiothoracic surgery and the only one in the state, to be treated like a criminal, noting that the man was injured in the process. As such, the strike was called to protest the alleged injustice.
“Prof. Ekpe is the professor of cardiothoracic surgery, the only one we have in Akwa Ibom State. Anyway, we don’t know what he has done, but we don’t really care at this point. Whatever he did, there is due process for this kind of thing. Even criminals are not treated this way. The only thing that should have been done would have been to send an invitation, which was not done.
“The NMA just had a meeting of its members, so we’ve begun the indefinite strike. The resolutions will be made public very soon.”
Meanwhile, the police have distanced themselves from involvement in the arrest of the professor, saying their operatives were only drafted to the scene to calm the situation and verify the authenticity of the officers who came for the arrest.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, said he ordered some policemen to join the EFCC officials to pick up a staff member of the hospital on the instruction of the judge in an ongoing court case.
Azare said that before the policemen entered the hospital premises for the arrest, he had informed the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Emem Bassey, to instruct his staff to grant the policemen access into the premises.
“The EFCC went for an arrest in the hospital this morning, and the CMD called me to verify if my men were among those in the hospital.
“I called the head of the EFCC, who confirmed to me that they were actually the ones who went to pick up that person on the instruction of the court. Right now, they are in court and handling a court case, and the judge stood down the matter and ordered that they bring that person. That is why they went to bring him.
“I called the CMD and advised him to open the gate for them to take the man because it is a legitimate duty.”
However, the spokesperson of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, in a statement dismissed allegations of assault by the operatives on anyone, saying rather that the officers suffered unprovoked attacks and resistance when they visited the facility for “inquiries.”
Speaking on why the EFCC operatives visited the UUTH in the first place, Oyewale explained: “The operatives’ visit was informed by the need to authenticate a medical report presented by a suspect under remand by Justice M.A. Onyetunu of the Federal High Court, Uyo, for allegedly defrauding multiple microfinance banks, including the University of Uyo Microfinance Bank.
“The suspect had presented a medical report which required authentication by the UUTH management. The Commission wrote two different letters, dated March 11, 2026, and April 20, 2026, to the hospital management to this effect without receiving any response. The Investigating Officer handling the matter took the further step of visiting the hospital to enquire about the status of the request. Still, no response.
“As a last resort, operatives of the commission visited the chief medical director of the hospital on Tuesday to make further enquiries, only to be locked in with a false alarm and subjected to unprovoked attacks by misguided staff of the facility, who pelted them with stones and other dangerous objects.
“While within the hospital, the CMD reportedly directed that the gates of the facility be shut, making it impossible for any lawful enquiry to be made. Police authorities in Akwa Ibom State advised the CMD to open the hospital gates to enable the operatives to exit the premises peacefully, but the entreaties were turned down.
“In spite of the hostility and provocation, there was no breakdown of law and order as the operatives exercised restraint and professionally made their way out of the hospital premises without disrupting its activities.
“Enquiries bordering on operational engagements of the Commission are lawful. It is therefore necessary to remind the public and corporate bodies that they are obligated to cooperate with the agency in such circumstances. Contrary action could be deemed obstruction, which is criminal with attendant legal consequences.”
UUTH shut as EFCC attempt to arrest staff
