Operatives of the Department of State Services have arrested two members of a kidnapping syndicate accused of abducting and killing a prominent professor of neurology, Ekanem Ephraim, whose disappearance in 2023 triggered widespread outrage and protests within the medical community.
The suspects, identified as Patrick Essien Etim, 23, and Bassey Antiha Asuquo, 40, were arrested at a medical facility in the state, where they were allegedly planning to abduct another senior medical practitioner.
The arrests were carried out on Saturday at a medical facility in Cross River State, nearly two years after the professor was taken from her private clinic on Atimbo Road, in July 2023 by gunmen who reportedly disguised themselves as patients during the attack that later proved fatal.
According to the source, the abductors disguised themselves as patients and struck while the professor was attending to them at about 7.15pm, before whisking her away at gunpoint.
A former chairman of the association, Dr Felix Archibong, had at the time said the kidnappers posed as patients and took advantage of her commitment to duty to carry out the attack.
The DSS source said the agency had been tracking the gang since the professor’s abduction, adding that intelligence-led operations eventually led to the arrest of the suspects.
“Our operatives arrested the leader of the gang and his accomplice on December 27. They confessed to kidnapping and killing Professor Ekanem Philip-Ephraim after collecting ransom payments from her family,” the source said.
The source added that the suspects’ confessions brought closure to the professor’s family after nearly two years of uncertainty over her fate.
“It has been a long period of pain for her loved ones. Within the arrest, there is some level of closure and reassurance that justice will be served,” the source said.
Another suspect, identified as Isaac Ekpeyong, was also arrested in connection with the crime. Investigations further revealed that the gang was involved in other kidnapping cases and the vandalisation of electricity cables within the state.
The DSS said the arrests underscored its continued commitment to dismantling criminal networks through covert and intelligence-driven operations, while improving public safety in Cross River State and beyond.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.
