The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why operatives from its Uyo Zonal Directorate visited the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) on Tuesday, saying the operation was part of efforts to verify a medical report submitted by a suspect standing trial for alleged fraud.
The hospital erupted into a pandemonium during EFCC operatives’ visit to the complex on Monday.
The anti-graft agency said the suspect, who is under remand by a judge, M.A. Onyetunu, of the Federal High Court in Uyo, is being prosecuted for allegedly defrauding several microfinance banks, including the University of Uyo Microfinance Bank.
In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the commission said the suspect presented a medical report which investigators needed the hospital management to authenticate.
According to the agency, it wrote two letters to the hospital management dated 11 March and 20 April requesting confirmation of the report but received no response.
The EFCC said the investigating officer handling the case later visited the hospital to follow up on the request, but the effort also yielded no response.
Mr Oyewale explained that operatives eventually visited the office of the hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD) on Tuesday “as a last resort” to make further enquiries.
He said the operatives were then trapped inside the facility and attacked by some hospital staff members.
“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 attack by misguided staff of the facility who pelted them with stones and other dangerous objects,” the statement said.
The EFCC further said that the CMD directed that the hospital gates be shut, preventing the operatives from leaving the premises.
“While within the hospital, the CMD reportedly directed that gates of the facility be shut, making it impossible for any lawful enquiry to be made,” the commission stated.
It added that police authorities in Akwa Ibom State intervened and advised the hospital management to reopen the gates to allow the operatives exit peacefully, but the request was allegedly ignored.
Despite the confrontation, the EFCC said its operatives remained restrained and left the premises without disrupting hospital activities.
“In spite of the hostility and provocation, there was no breakdown of law and order as the operatives exercised restraint and professionally made their ways out of the hospital premises without disrupting its activities,” the statement added.
The commission maintained that its enquiries were lawful and warned public institutions and private organisations against obstructing its operations.
“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 as obstruction, which is criminal with attendant legal consequences,” the EFCC noted.
Background
The EFCC’s explanation followed reports earlier on Tuesday that an operation by its operatives at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital caused panic within the facility and disrupted medical services.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that workers abandoned wards while patients and visitors fled the hospital premises during the operation amid safety concerns.
Witnesses told the newspaper that armed operatives arrived at the hospital in what they described as a “commando-style” operation involving two salon cars and a tinted bus. Some of the operatives reportedly wore masks, while a few wore EFCC insignia.
The operation reportedly led to the arrest of Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery and Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee.
Videos shared with PREMIUM TIMES showed scenes of panic within the hospital after what witnesses described as the firing of teargas during the operation.
Some witnesses also alleged that gunshots were fired, triggering chaos within the facility.
“The entire place became chaotic. Patients and staff started running when they started shooting teargas and gun,” one witness told PREMIUM TIMES.
The incident also prompted labour unions within the hospital to direct workers to vacate the premises over security concerns.
In an internal memo, the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital branch of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives instructed nurses to immediately leave the hospital environment pending the restoration of calm.
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Officials of the Trade Union Congress and the Senior Staff Association were also seen moving across wards and departments asking workers to leave.
The disruption raised concerns over the safety of patients receiving treatment at the tertiary hospital, particularly those in critical condition.
Before the EFCC shared its statement, PREMIUM TIMES had sent enquiries to both the anti-graft agency and the hospital management seeking clarification on the operation, including allegations surrounding the use of teargas and the disruption of healthcare services.