Obasanjo library condemns EFCC’s “night invasion,” threatens legal action
Story by Susan Mbamah
The management of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) has condemned an early morning invasion by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives on Sunday, stating it will seek legal redress if the anti-graft agency fails to issue an apology.
According to a statement by OOPL’s Managing Director, Mr. Vitalis Ortese, the “sting operation” occurred around 2 a.m. and resulted in injuries to attendees of a private gathering who “scampered for safety.” The armed men, allegedly led by one “Olapade,” reportedly engaged in “sporadic shooting” and “threatened to kill” people on the premises.
The OOPL management criticised the EFCC’s actions as “primitive,” arguing it was unnecessary given that police officers were already on-site for the event, with additional officers from Kemta Police Station, Abeokuta, also present. Ortese noted that none of the police officers had been informed of the EFCC’s planned raid.
The statement partly reads: “The invasion, led by one ‘Olapade,’ caused serious panic and chaos, leading to serious injuries among participants trying to escape the shooting and the carnage that resulted, and causing terror among residents on the site.”
READ ALSO: EFCC raids Obasanjo’s hotel, arrests internet fraudsters at pool party
Ortese said when the OOPL’s Managing Director, Vitalis Ortese, inquired by phone, “the ‘Olapade’ informed the Managing Director of the OOPL establishment, Mr. Vitalis Ortese, that they were acting on an intelligence about a private event in the amusement facility of the complex.”
The statement further clarified that the event “was a private event that had been widely advertised to members of the public for days prior,” and that the EFCC operatives did not present a warrant to the OOPL security or assisting police officers.
The OOPL management described the EFCC’s actions as “a clear case of invasion of private property, infringement of OOPL rights as corporate citizens, and indeed a stark and blatant violation of the rights of the people who so gathered for the event.”
The library is now demanding an explanation and a “due apology” from the EFCC for the incident and for the injuries sustained by attendees. “Failure for which the management will be compelled to seek redress and sanctions as appropriate,” the statement warned.
READ ALSO: NLC calls emergency meeting after invasion of Labour House
Meanwhile, the EFCC’s X handle disclosed an Abeokuta raid on Sunday, in which “93 suspected Internet fraudsters were arrested by the operatives of its Lagos Zonal office.”
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