The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has taken into custody one Sunday Okon Akpan, a self-proclaimed medical doctor, for allegedly conducting an unlawful abortion that resulted in the death of a young woman at his unlicensed medical facility.
Police spokesperson DSP Timfon John confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Thursday, disclosing that the suspect posed as a medical practitioner while running Full Life Medical Centre in Ikot Obio Odong village, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
The case unfolded after a woman reported to the police that her daughter, Blessing Sunday Etim, who worked at the centre, had failed to return home. Officers traced the complaint to the facility, where disturbing revelations followed.
According to DSP John, a co-tenant of the deceased recounted how the suspect attempted to secretly deposit the victim’s body in her apartment but was confronted. “When challenged, he abandoned the corpse and fled,” she stated.
Detectives who later arrived at the location observed a premature foetus emerging from the victim’s body, fuelling suspicion of a botched abortion. The investigation was immediately escalated, leading to Akpan’s arrest. The suspect, a native of Afaha Offiong village in Nsit Ibom, was subsequently identified as neither a licensed doctor nor a nurse, but a community health practitioner.
DSP John added that preliminary findings confirmed the victim died following an unlawful abortion carried out by the suspect. Further enquiries indicated that Akpan had been using the so-called medical centre to conduct illegal procedures and abortions. The premises have since been abandoned.
The police spokesperson also confirmed that the victim’s body has been deposited in a morgue for preservation and autopsy, while investigations remain ongoing.