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Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested suspects linked to the abduction and killing of Professor of Neurology Ekanem Philip Ephraim, nearly two years after the crime.
A security source confirmed the arrests to Channels Television on Monday, naming the alleged gang leader as 24-year-old Patrick Essien Etim and his accomplice, 40-year-old Bassey Antiha Asuquo.
DSS officers reportedly apprehended the suspects on December 27 at a medical facility in Cross River State, where they were allegedly planning to abduct another prominent medical practitioner.
According to the source, the DSS had tracked the kidnapping syndicate since July 2023, when armed men posing as patients abducted Professor Ephraim.
The suspects allegedly confessed to the crime, admitting that they killed the professor after collecting multiple ransom payments from her family.
The source said the arrests would bring long-awaited relief and closure to the professor’s family and loved ones, describing the development as a breakthrough that highlights the DSS’s renewed commitment to covert operations and public safety.
Investigators also arrested another suspect, Isaac Ekpeyong, after the suspects admitted involvement in other kidnappings and the vandalisation of electricity cables.
Gunmen abducted Professor Ephraim on July 13, 2023, from her private clinic along Atimbo Road in Calabar, an incident that triggered widespread protests led by the Cross River chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
Doctors later embarked on an indefinite strike that disrupted health services across the state for over a week, as they demanded urgent government action to secure her release.
