The Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Professor Ememabasi Bassey, has revealed that the medical report at the centre of the recent confrontation between operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and hospital staff was fake.
Speaking during a press conference in Uyo on Wednesday, Bassey disclosed that preliminary findings suggested that some individuals within the hospital may have collaborated with outsiders to produce the forged document.
According to him, the controversial medical report, which EFCC operatives visited the hospital to authenticate, did not originate from the hospital’s official system.
“One of the things we need to get to the bottom of is how the lawyer involved obtained a fake medical report. That means there may be actors within this hospital working in concert with outsiders because, everywhere, there are bad eggs,” he said.
The CMD explained that the letterhead used for the document was outdated and widely accessible outside the institution.
“UUTH letterhead is everywhere. If you go to business centres and plazas, you will find them. We have seen several fake medical reports purportedly issued by this hospital, which we have always denied. Even the letterhead used in this case was an old version and did not come from any official quarters of the hospital,” he added.
The incident sparked tension within the hospital after EFCC operatives reportedly attempted to arrest Professor Eyo Ekpe, the hospital’s Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, during an authentication exercise.
The confrontation eventually led to the shutdown of the hospital and an indefinite strike action by doctors under the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria and the Association of Resident Doctors chapters at the institution.
Bassey, however, defended the EFCC as an institution, insisting that the actions of a few operatives should not be used to discredit the anti-graft agency.
“I will not sit down here and rubbish the EFCC. The EFCC is doing an important job in this country. But we can condemn the activities of a few operatives whose actions led to this unfortunate situation,” he said.
The CMD denied allegations that the hospital deliberately ignored EFCC requests for authentication of the report. He maintained that the hospital only received one official letter from the commission, dated April 21, 2026, contrary to claims that an earlier letter dated March 11 had been sent.
He explained that the process of retrieving and authenticating the patient’s file was delayed by public holidays, weekends and the official absence of Professor Ekpe, who had travelled for national postgraduate medical examinations.
According to Bassey, Ekpe returned on Monday, May 11, and immediately produced a draft report confirming that the medical document was not genuine.
The hospital boss further accused the operatives of bypassing hospital management and heading directly to Ekpe’s office without formally identifying themselves or presenting an arrest warrant.
“To the best of my knowledge, before you arrest somebody, there should be a warrant. If there was an issue of non-compliance, I am the Chief Executive Officer and should have been held responsible, not a professor carrying out an assignment,” he stated.
Bassey alleged that after Ekpe showed the operatives the draft authentication report, they returned with armed reinforcements, causing panic among workers and patients.
“His staff ran out because they saw hooded armed men invading the office,” he said.
He said he immediately contacted the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, who advised the hospital to secure its gates pending clarification on the identity of the armed men.
The situation later escalated after tear gas was reportedly deployed within the premises, leaving some hospital workers injured.
Bassey said he personally followed the EFCC team to the commission’s regional office, where discussions with senior officials eventually led to the release of Professor Ekpe and four other detained staff members.
He lamented that the crisis could have been avoided through proper communication.
“All they needed to do was place a phone call to my office. Something that should have been a routine administrative exercise degenerated into a major crisis because it was crudely handled,” he said.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has denied allegations that its operatives invaded the hospital unlawfully, insisting they were carrying out an official assignment linked to an ongoing fraud case involving several microfinance banks.
Medical unions at the hospital have since demanded disciplinary action against the operatives involved, compensation for affected staff, treatment for injured workers and a public apology from the EFCC before the ongoing strike can be suspended.
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