Presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, has condemned the invasion of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He described the deployment of teargas within the hospital premises as a thoughtless act that endangered the lives of patients and medical staff.

Obi, in a statement he personally signed on Thursday, said while he respected the constitutional mandate of the EFCC and other government agencies to carry out their duties, the manner in which some of those duties were executed remained deeply troubling.

“Reportedly, the EFCC operatives who stormed the hospital shot some teargas canisters within the hospital premises which sent medical staff and patients running for safety.

“This thoughtless act greatly compromised the general safety in the hospital environment and further jeopardised the health of the medical personnel and the sick people in the hospital,” he said.

EFCC operatives had on Tuesday stormed the hospital in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in connection with the authentication of a medical report submitted by a fraud suspect standing trial at the Federal High Court in Uyo.

The visit degenerated into a violent confrontation in which teargas and live rounds were reportedly fired, four staff members, including the Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Council, Professor Effiong Ekpe, a cardiothoracic surgeon, were arrested and several workers were injured.

The Incident triggered an indefinite strike by medical doctors at the facility.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Ememabasi Bassey, who addressed a press conference on Wednesday, alleged that the operatives arrived without a warrant, without identifying themselves to management and without prior notification to hospital authorities.

He also revealed that the medical report the operatives came to authenticate was itself fake, and suggested that persons within the hospital may have collaborated with outsiders to produce it.

Obi said the incident raised serious questions about the signals being sent to medical professionals who were working under difficult conditions to keep the country’s health sector functioning.

“If a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery is arrested in such a demeaning manner in a hospital environment, what signals are we sending to other medical professionals working hard to keep our health sector afloat?” he said.

He noted that Nigeria had only 80 cardiothoracic surgeons serving its 230 million people, and that Ekpe was the only one in Akwa Ibom State, making the manner of his arrest even more consequential.

He said the rule of law remained the most fundamental intangible asset upon which any nation functioned effectively and that the conduct allegedly displayed by the operatives must not be encouraged.

“Nothing justifies the use of teargas canisters in a fragile hospital environment. Do we not realise that our hospitals are part of our most critical contributors to development? We must also learn to respect the lives and dignity of our citizens,” he said.

He called on public institutions to embrace civility in the discharge of their duties and shed what he described as the rascality and disorderliness that had continued to characterise some of them.

“Let us condemn and eschew the rascality and disorderliness that have continued to characterise some of our public offices and bring in civility in the discharge of our duties. A new Nigeria is possible,” he said.

The EFCC has denied invading the hospital, with its head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale, insisting its operatives were on an official assignment.

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria and the Association of Resident Doctors, UUTH chapters, have demanded disciplinary action against all operatives involved, a public apology in two national newspapers, medical treatment and compensation for injured staff and repair of all damaged property, saying the strike would continue until all conditions were met. (The PUNCH)

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