The directive by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for the arrest of two operatives over acts of alleged misconduct during an operation at a hotel in Lagos is in the right direction. In a viral video, the two EFCC officers were seen violently assaulting a woman during what was described as a ‘sting operation’ at a Lagos hotel. While other videos have also been shared online to show that the operatives may have been responding to attacks, officers of the law cannot afford to be unruly. Besides, it has become a standard practice for EFCC operatives to raid hotels, relaxation spots, and indeed homes in different parts of the country in hunt for cybercrime suspects where, in many cases, innocent citizens are molested and embarrassed.
Last November, some EFCC operatives invaded the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife Students’ off-campus Hostel at Oduduwa Estate at night. No fewer than 69 students were apprehended and ferried to their Ibadan zonal office where they were detained. According to the commission, the students were arrested “following actionable intelligence on their suspected involvement in fraudulent Internet-related activities.” But apparently on finding nothing incriminating on many, 58 of the students were released while the agency held on to eleven. Expectedly, the mass arrest sparked an outrage, raising many disturbing questions. How could all the students residing in a large hostel be suspected fraudsters? Should a law enforcement agency pronounce people guilty by association?
Following the release of the arrested students, many of the parents demanded an apology from the EFCC for the unlawful clampdown on their wards. Besides, they sought for the immediate clearance of their children’s names, pictures, and biometrics from the records of the anti-graft body. There was no response from the commission on what could jeopardise the future of these young people.
We are not oblivious to the crime that the EFCC is fighting. The number of young people who are getting involved in cybercrimes in Nigeria is growing and that should worry all stakeholders. Driven by the prevailing economic hardship in the country and greed, many of our campuses have become breeding grounds for frauds, including romance scams and ‘419’ – in reference to the section of the Nigerian law that criminalises such scams. A dastardly one – killing for rituals, often called Yahoo plus–has also been introduced, with ‘academies’ where the intricate nature of this sordid ‘business’ is reportedly taught to willing young men and women. But nothing can justify the kind of violence depicted in the video clips that are now viral.
We must reiterate that the EFCC was established for the investigation and prosecution of both private and public persons implicated in corrupt practices and economic crimes at both the federal and state levels. In recent years, the performance evaluation of the commission by most Nigerians has been anything but salutary. Since justice is rooted in confidence, there must be something wrong when members of the public go away with the impression that the EFCC itself is not above board when it comes to the issue for which it was established. It is worse when operatives of the commission behave like licensed thugs in the discharge of their official responsibility.
The EFCC must imbibe the rigour and the wherewithal to conduct thorough investigations, prosecution, and convictions of suspects without their operatives taking the law into their own hands. While we commend Olukayode for his prompt intervention on the latest scandal, we hope that there will be a total overhaul of the commission’s operations so that such does not happen again.
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