UUTH Crisis: CMD Faults EFCC Raid, Appeals to Doctors to Resume Duty

By Ogenyi Ogenyi, Uyo

The Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Ememabasi Bassey, has appealed to doctors and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to suspend the ongoing industrial action at the hospital, warning that continued disruption of medical services could endanger patients’ lives.

Prof. Bassey made the appeal during a press conference in Uyo on Wednesday while reacting to Tuesday’s controversial operation by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the hospital over an investigation involving an alleged fake medical report.

Tension erupted at the hospital on Tuesday, May 12, after armed EFCC operatives reportedly stormed the facility in an attempt to arrest Eyo Ekpe, following delays in authenticating a medical report linked to an ongoing EFCC investigation.

The incident triggered protests by doctors and hospital workers, who accused the operatives of invading the hospital with armed personnel, firing tear gas, and assaulting staff members, leading to a shutdown of medical services.

Reports from the hospital indicated that shortly after the incident and the subsequent stop-work action by medical personnel, a middle-aged man allegedly died at the Accident and Emergency Unit, causing panic among patients and relatives.

Speaking on the development, Prof. Bassey urged unions and healthcare workers to consider the condition of patients who rely on the hospital for treatment.

“I want to appeal to the leadership of the NMA and the unions to consider the lives of innocent patients who may lose their lives if left unattended. The stoppage of work does not benefit the perpetrators of the act in any way,” he said.

The CMD described UUTH as the only publicly accessible federal tertiary health institution in Akwa Ibom State, noting that the facility attends to between 600 and 800 patients daily.

According to him, the crisis began after the EFCC requested authentication of a medical report allegedly issued by the hospital in respect of a suspect under investigation.

Prof. Bassey said internal investigations later revealed that the document was fake and had been issued using an outdated hospital letterhead. He added that the doctor whose name appeared on the report was not attached to the department listed in the document.

“We discovered that some actors had opened a fake folder with no official documentation and issued a fake medical report,” he stated.

The CMD further disclosed that Prof. Ekpe had already prepared a draft response confirming the report was fake before EFCC operatives allegedly stormed his office and attempted to arrest him.

“At no point did the operatives formally notify hospital management or present any arrest warrant before attempting to drag out a professor from his office,” Bassey alleged.

While acknowledging the EFCC’s anti-corruption mandate, the CMD urged security agencies to observe professionalism and proper rules of engagement when operating within health institutions.

“This hospital is a place of last resort for millions of citizens. It is a hallowed ground, not a place for violent operations that could endanger patients and healthcare workers,” he added.

Also speaking, Prof. Ekpe alleged that he was forcibly dragged from his office by armed operatives despite informing them that he neither authored the medical report nor was a suspect in the investigation.

He further claimed that some hospital workers sustained injuries during the operation as panic spread across the facility following the alleged firing of tear gas and gunshots.