Operatives of the Department of State Services have arrested suspected members of a kidnapping gang linked to the 2023 abduction and murder of a neurology professor, Ekanem Philip-Ephraim, in Cross River State.
Philip-Ephraim was abducted on July 13, 2023, at her private clinic in Calabar and was later confirmed dead by her captors, a development that sparked outrage within the medical community and led to a temporary withdrawal of medical services by the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association.
Security sources told journalists on Monday that two prime suspects—Patrick Essien Etim, 23, alleged to be the gang leader, and Bassey Antiha Asuquo, 40—were arrested on December 27 at a medical facility in the state while allegedly planning another kidnapping targeting a senior medical practitioner.
According to one DSS official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the suspects had been under surveillance since the professor’s abduction two years ago.
“Our operatives, on December 27, arrested the leader of the gang and another suspect involved in the kidnapping and murder of Professor Ekanem Philip-Ephraim in 2023,” the source said.
“The suspects were apprehended at a medical facility in Cross River State while allegedly making plans to abduct another prominent doctor,” the official added.
The DSS source disclosed that the suspects confessed to posing as patients to gain access to Philip-Ephraim at her clinic on Atimbo Road, Calabar, before pulling out weapons and abducting her in the evening.
“They admitted that after collecting multiple ransom payments from her family, they eventually killed the professor,” the source said. “It has been two years of anguish for her family, not knowing her fate. This arrest should bring them some measure of closure.”
Another suspect, identified as Isaac Ekpeyong, was also arrested in connection with the crime. The suspects were further alleged to have been involved in other kidnapping operations and the vandalism of electricity infrastructure in the state.
The DSS described the arrests as a major breakthrough in its efforts to dismantle criminal networks.
“This operation underscores the Service’s renewed commitment to covert operations aimed at disrupting criminal gangs and restoring public safety across the country,” the source said.
Philip-Ephraim’s abduction in 2023 had drawn widespread condemnation, with the then Chairman of the NMA in Cross River State, Dr Felix Archibong, revealing that the kidnappers disguised themselves as patients before abducting her while she was attending to them.
Her death had intensified calls for improved security for healthcare workers, particularly those running private medical facilities.
