UYO, Nigeria — The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has announced the suspension of medical services to personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and their relatives following an operation at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital that doctors alleged involved the assault of medical personnel.
The association also said it would institute a ₦1 billion lawsuit against the anti-graft agency over what it described as physical, emotional, professional and institutional damages arising from the incident.
The decisions were announced on Wednesday, May 14, 2026, during a press conference in Uyo after an emergency meeting convened by the association.
The dispute followed a visit by EFCC operatives to the teaching hospital on Tuesday during an investigation involving a suspect said to have submitted a medical report to the commission.
The EFCC said its officers visited the hospital to verify information connected to the investigation and later approached the Chief Medical Director “as a last resort to make further enquiries,” but withdrew after encountering resistance.
The Nigerian Medical Association, however, accused the operatives of assaulting Professor Eyo Ekpe, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the hospital.
Professor Aniekan Peter, chairman of the association in Akwa Ibom State, said the resolutions adopted by the association included legal action against the commission.
“We observed that Prof Eyo Ekpe was apprehended within the premises of UUTH by masked EFCC operatives who physically assaulted him, beat him to the point of bleeding, handcuffed him alongside other doctors and hospital staff who attempted to intervene,” Peter said.
He also alleged that he was affected during the incident.
“Professor Peter, Akwa Ibom NMA chairman, was shoved and exposed to teargas when he approached the scene seeking clarification from the operatives,” he said.
Association Lists Demands
The association described the hospital as a protected professional environment that should not be subjected to violent security operations.
“We shall institute a legal action against the EFCC with a demand for damages in the sum of N1bn for the physical, emotional, professional and institutional damages caused,” the association said.
A communique issued after the meeting was read by the Assistant Secretary of the association, Dr Unyime Ndoh, and endorsed by Peter and the state secretary, Dr Ighorodje Edesiri.
The association said its members would not return fully to work until its demands were met, including a formal apology to the affected doctors and the identification and prosecution of officers allegedly involved in the operation.
The NMA also maintained that neither Professor Ekpe nor the leadership of the association received any prior formal invitation before the operation.
Describing the incident as “barbaric, degrading, inhuman and a gross violation of the sanctity of the hospital environment,” the association announced that medical services to EFCC personnel and their families would remain suspended pending the resolution of the dispute.
