NMA Akwa Ibom and EFCC ‘Gra Gra’
In 2020, Nigerian Singer Timaya released a song titled ‘Gra Gra’. For a while, the song trended with everybody singing and vibing to the jam- ‘No do, no do; no do gra gra for me o!’. Aggression in the Nigerian setting, often locally referred to as “gra gra” is a forceful, aggressive and unfortunately, common […]
In 2020, Nigerian Singer Timaya released a song titled ‘Gra Gra’. For a while, the song trended with everybody singing and vibing to the jam- ‘No do, no do; no do gra gra for me o!’.
Aggression in the Nigerian setting, often locally referred to as “gra gra” is a forceful, aggressive and unfortunately, common behaviour that is a significant social problem stemming from cultural, socio-economic, and environmental factors It often manifests as bullying, physical combat, verbal insults, or chaotic driving, and is driven by factors like poverty, poor infrastructure, and a cultural acceptance of stern discipline.
Timaya advised us in his song not to “gra gra”, but it seems EFCC did not get the memo.
On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) crossed a line so absurd that it would be comical if it were not so tragic. They stormed the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) like a bunch of area boys on a rampage, masked, armed, and high on cheap cannabis; their target, A cardiothoracic surgeon. A DCMAC. His crime? They did not like the way he answered a letter.
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, has since declared an indefinite strike, shutting down all public hospitals in the state. In a communiqué issued after an emergency virtual congress, they condemned the “barbaric, degrading, inhumane” invasion of the hospital premises by the EFCC operatives. According to the NMA, Professor Eyo Ekpe, the Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) and one of the few cardio-thoracic surgeons in the country, was physically assaulted, beaten to the point of bleeding, handcuffed like a common thief, and dragged out of the premises while other doctors and hospital staff who tried to intervene were also arrested. The association also alleged that when gunshots were fired within the hospital environment, teargas canisters were deployed in the wards. Wards that are filled with patients, some of whom have respiratory issues; that is where tear gas was used. Eyewitnesses stated that the phones of individuals who tried to record the incident were confiscated.
The NMA chairman, Professor Aniekan Imo Peter, was himself shoved and exposed to teargas when he approached the scene to seek clarification. Let that sink in. The leader of the doctors, in a hospital, was tear gassed by a government agency in the course of his duty. The EFCC, in its defence, claimed its operatives only visited the hospital to authenticate a medical report submitted by a fraud suspect standing trial, and that they had written two letters to the hospital management on March 11 and April 20, 2026, which were ignored. Even if that is true and the CMD has not confirmed it, since when does a letter requesting verification of a document justify a violent, masked, military-style invasion of a hospital with teargas and live ammunition? Since when does “no response” translate to a license to brutalise the third highest-ranking officer in the hospital?
This incident has exposed a rotten wound eating deep into the fabric of our nation: the love of violence and the abuse of power. In Nigeria, we have normalised aggression to the point where it is almost reflexive. Give people a little power and they are most likely to abuse it. From the police officer on the road who fires his AK-47 at a driver for a minor traffic violation, to the EFCC operatives who now act like the reincarnation of the dreaded SARS, we have become a country where the state apparatus has been weaponised against its own citizens. The EFCC, an agency set up to fight the big fish, the politicians who steal our budgets and leave us in darkness, has instead turned its guns on a professor who saves lives daily.
This brings me to the fundamental flaw of the EFCC and the hypocrisy that defines their operations. What exactly is the EFCC doing? We see them arresting young men for “yahoo yahoo,” which is terrible, but where is the same energy for the political godfathers who loot the treasury? During the week, a former minister was sentenced to 75 years in prison, a rare verdict, but how many of their sponsors are sitting comfortably in their mansions in Abuja, drinking tea and watching the news? The EFCC is quick to dive into a hospital like it is a military barrack to arrest a doctor, yet when governors accused of stealing billions are invited, they are treated with kid gloves. The controversy surrounding the selective prosecution of politicians is legendary. The African Democratic Congress once accused the commission of engaging in selective investigations, targeting opposition members while sparing ruling party chieftains. Atiku Abubakar himself warned that the EFCC had become an “overzealous appendage of the ruling APC,” used to intimidate and coerce politicians into joining the ruling party.
Why is a doctor the scapegoat? Because it is easy. Because a professor in a white coat is a soft target compared to a politician with a private militia. The EFCC operatives knew that if they tried this nonsense in the compound of a former governor, they would likely be shot. So, they picked on a man whose only weapon is a scalpel. The NMA PRO, Dr Gabriel Eyo, captured the sentiment perfectly when he said, “Even the politicians who steal money in millions, in billions, even criminals are not treated this way.”
Chai! A whole cardiothoracic surgeon, the state’s only one, beaten like a drum and dragged through the mud over a document verification issue. Yet, the big fish swim freely in the lagoon of corruption, wining and dining with the same security operatives who brutalized this doctor.
What is the end result of this madness? The hospital is shut, patients are suffering, the family of the patient who was about to undergo heart surgery before the EFCC arrived is now waiting helplessly. The NMA has demanded an immediate and unconditional release of Prof. Ekpe and all detained members, an unreserved public apology, and the identification and prosecution of all EFCC officers involved in the raid. They have also declared a total and indefinite strike, meaning that no doctor in Akwa Ibom State will lift a finger to treat anyone, including EFCC officers, until justice is served. And they are right. We cannot keep quiet.
This is not about shielding a doctor from investigation. It’s about the rule of law. It’s about the sanctity of the hospital. It’s about respect for human dignity. If the EFCC wanted to question Prof. Ekpe, they have the means: a letter, a phone call, an invitation. The due process is simple. But in Nigeria, due process is for the poor and the powerless. The powerful simply pick up their guns, fire teargas, and ask questions later. We must reject this lawlessness. We must support the NMA in their fight for justice.
This ‘gra gra’ is enough!