… We will bring perpetrators to justice- PPRO assures
Respected neurologist and consultant at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Professor Ekanem Philip Ephraim has been taken into captivity by abductors, police have confirmed.
The distressing incident was confirmed by the Cross River State Police Command on Friday morning.
According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Irene Ugbo, the situation is being diligently addressed, and there was no cause for alarm.
“The command has promptly initiated a tactical operation to track down the perpetrators responsible for this reprehensible act.
“However, due to the audacity of the criminals, who seized the mobile phones of onlookers and even security guards present at the scene, the response time of the tactical teams was significantly hindered.
“It is indeed true that a medical practitioner was kidnapped last night. We are resolute in our relentless fight against crime, and our pursuit of the kidnappers is ongoing. Let the public be rest assured, we will bring them to justice,” SP Irene Ugbo assured.
The incident occurred at about 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 13 near Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Road, off Atimbo in Calabar Municipality when four hefty-looking individuals arrived at the professor’s facility in a Toyota vehicle.
According to impeccable sources, the men pretended as they had a patient with them and they demanded to see the doctor immediately.
“It was when he came to attend to the men that he was whisked away in their car. One of the ladies who was with him pursued them, and immediately they pointed a gun at her she had to stay back for fear of losing her life.
“They collected phones from the security guards around a popular church near the victims facility so that they won’t make any calls to the police or other security agencies.
The motive behind this brazen abduction remains unclear, casting a shadow of concern over the community.
As the search for Professor Ekanem Philip Ephraim intensifies, the authorities are sparing no effort to ensure his safe return.
The medical community and the general public anxiously await positive developments, hoping for a swift resolution to this distressing ordeal.
