• Decries abduction of 14 doctors in Calabar
The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), yesterday, expressed worries over the continued stay in captivity of Prof. Ekanem Phillip-Ephraim, a Professor of Neurology, 48 days after she was abducted from her residence in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Prof. Ephraim, a lead consultant of neurology at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), was abducted from her residence in Calabar by gunmen posing as relations to a patient in dire need of medical attention.
MDCAN lamented that with no communication from her captors, the state of her current physical and mental health remains a matter of conjecture.
The consultants also decried the kidnap of about 14 doctors in the city of Calabar in just five years, stressing that it has lost confidence in the ability of the Cross River State Police Command to contain the trend in the state.
MDCAN, in a statement jointly signed by the President, Dr. Victor Makanjuola and the Secretary General, Dr. Yemi Raji, noted that it will today, September 1, hold a white ribbon event in all MDCAN Chapters across the country to call attention to this unresolved crime.
The consultants called on the government at all levels to prioritise security of the lives of Nigerians, adding that it will not accept Prof. Ephraim’s abduction as another unresolved kidnap incident.
“Her situation appears to mirror the security situation in Calabar, given the rising incidences of what looks like unchecked kidnap of citizens. As it stands today, there is a pervading air of fear around both the work and home environments within our cities and the state as a whole.
“How else does one explain the kidnapping of as many as 14 doctors in one city in just five years? That we have lost confidence in the ability of the Cross River State Police Command to contain the trend of kidnapping in the State.”
will only be putting it mildly. “In our earlier letter to the Inspector General of Police on August 21, we prayed him to activate a special investigative team to unravel this latest crime in a list of several others.
“We also want to call on the public to join us in calling on the government at all levels to prioritise security of the lives of Nigerians as we refuse to accept this as another unresolved kidnap incident,” the group added.
