The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has decried the incessant abduction of doctors in Cross River State.
According to MDCAN, 14 doctors have been kidnapped in Cross River State in five years.
This was contained in a joint statement signed by the President of the association Dr. Victor Makanjuola and Secretary General Dr. Yemi Raji.
On Thursday, July 13, 2023, Prof Ekanem Ephraim, a professor of Neurology with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), was abducted by gunmen at her residence.
In the statement titled, ‘Kidnap of neurology Professor’, the association said: “Today makes it 48 days since our very senior colleague and Professor of Neurology, Prof Ekanem Phillip-Ephraim, was kidnapped from her home in Calabar, Cross River State, and taken into captivity. With no communication from her captors, the state of her current physical and mental health remains a matter of conjecture.
“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 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 kidnap of as many as 14 doctors in one city in just 5 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.”
MDCAN also urged the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to activate a special investigative team to unravel the crime rate in the state.
“In our earlier letter to the Inspector General of Police on 21 August 2023, 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 prioritize the security of the lives of Nigerians as we refuse to accept this as another unresolved kidnap incident.
“On September 1, 2023, we will be holding a white ribbon event in all MDCAN Chapters across the country to call attention to this unresolved crime.”
