Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS have arrested the alleged gang leader and an accomplice responsible for the kidnapping and murder of a renowned professor of neurology, Ekanem Philip Ephraim who was abducted and later murdered in Calabar, Cross River State in 2023.
A credible security source confirmed that the suspects, 23-year-old Patrick Essien Etim, identified as the gang leader, and 40-year-old Bassey Antiha Asuquo, were arrested on December 27, 2025, at a medical facility in Cross River State, where they were allegedly planning another kidnapping targeting a senior medical professional.
According to the source, the DSS has been tracking the kidnapping syndicate since July 2023, when gunmen posing as patients abducted Professor Ephraim from her private clinic on Atimbo Road, Calabar.
The suspects have reportedly confessed to the crime, admitting that Professor Ephraim was killed after multiple ransom payments were collected from her family.
“It has been two years of torment for her loved ones, not knowing what happened to the Professor. With this arrest, her family may finally find some peace and the closure they deserve,” the source said.
The arrested suspects also allegedly confessed to other kidnapping operations and acts of vandalism of electricity infrastructure. A third suspect, Isaac Ekpeyong, was also arrested in connection with the crimes.
Professor Ephraim was abducted on July 13, 2023, in a case that sparked statewide protests by members of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA in Cross River State. The association embarked on an indefinite strike, crippling health services for over a week as pressure mounted on authorities to rescue the professor.
The source described the arrests as a major operational breakthrough, noting that this underscores the DSS’s renewed emphasis on covert intelligence operations and its commitment to restoring public safety nationwide.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
