Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has strongly condemned an alleged raid conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH).
It should be recalled that the EFCC operatives reportedly stormed the hospital and fired teargas canisters within the premises, causing medical staff and patients to run for safety.
Reacting, Obi described the deployment of tear gas in a healthcare environment as a “thoughtless act” that compromised the safety of patients and staff.
The former Anambra State Governor gave the reaction in a message issued on his verified X handle on Thursday.
Obi stated that, while he knows and appreciates the fact that the EFCC, and all other government agencies, have constitutional rights to carry out their duties without interference, the manner in which some of these duties are carried out is frequently very disturbing.
“I have just read the recent troubling reports of how the operatives of the EFCC allegedly stormed the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in a bid to arrest Professor Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery and deputy chairman of the hospital’s medical advisory committee.
“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.
“I have always said that the most fundamental intangible asset upon which any nation functions effectively is the rule of law and order.
“The disorderliness allegedly demonstrated by the EFCC operatives at the hospital 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. 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?
“It is reported that Nigeria has only 80 cardiothoracic surgeons serving its 230 million people, and the Prof Eyo Ekpe is the only one in Akwa Ibom State.
“Let us learn to do better. 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,” Obi wrote.
