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Outrage has erupted after four staff members of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in Akwa Ibom State – including Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Prof. Effiong Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery – were allegedly assaulted and arrested while an EFCC investigation was verifying a medical report submitted by a fraud suspect.
The incident occurred following a visit by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday.
PUNCH Online reported that EFCC operatives arrived at the hospital in the afternoon and attempted to detain a staff member, prompting resistance from workers and other hospital personnel.
Eyewitnesses said the operatives subsequently called for reinforcements, and additional officers fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd that had gathered at the scene.
According to PUNCH Online, the operatives eventually removed Prof. Ekpe and three other staff members from the premises.
Several individuals were reportedly injured, and phones were said to have been damaged as workers tried to record the events.
In a statement obtained by PUNCH Metro on X on Tuesday, the EFCC confirmed that its operatives visited the hospital to authenticate a medical report submitted by a suspect who is currently on trial before Justice M.A. Onyetunu of the Federal High Court in Uyo. The suspect faces allegations of fraud involving multiple micro‑finance 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 agency said.
The anti‑graft agency added that its investigating officer later visited the hospital to follow up on the request but still received no reply.
“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 an unprovoked attack by misguided staff of the facility who pelted them with stones and other dangerous objects,” the statement continued.
The EFCC also alleged that the hospital management closed the gates against its operatives despite police intervention.
“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,” it said.
The agency asserted that its operatives acted professionally, did not disrupt hospital activities, and warned that obstructing lawful investigations could attract legal consequences.
Medical doctors and health workers at the hospital have announced an indefinite strike in response to the incident.
The chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Akwa Ibom State, Dr Aniekan Peters, reportedly instructed doctors across the state to suspend services, while the Joint Health Sector Unions also declared a total shutdown of hospital activities in protest.
Speaking on the development, the Public Relations Officer of the NMA in the state, Dr Gabriel Eyo, described the episode as an attack on the hospital and its workers.
“In the early hours of this morning, masked men wearing EFCC jackets stormed into the hospital premises, walked into the office of the Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Prof. Effiong Ekpe, and beat him to a pulp,” Eyo alleged.
“They dragged him like a common criminal. When members of staff, students and other health
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