The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has condemned the attack on its operatives on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, by staff and students of the Federal College of Forestry, Idi-shin Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a statement, the EFCC said its operatives were in the college to authenticate the address and identity of Azeez Kazeem Oluwakemi, who stood as a surety for Alakinde Khalid Kolawole, a suspected internet fraudster in the custody of the Commission.
However, the Commission said, on arrival at the college, the operatives were met with hostility from students led by their Union President and staff, who barricaded the two main entrance gates with a car and vandalised their bus. The students and staff also threw stones and dangerous objects at the operatives, holding seven of them hostage.
It took the intervention of a rescue team to secure the release of the hostages, the statement said.
The Commission added that its operatives exercised restraint in the face of the unprovoked attack and refrained from applying force against the “belligerent attackers”.
The EFCC also warned against any further obstruction of its operatives in the discharge of their duties, saying that it will no longer be tolerated.
“The Commission wishes to assure the public that it will continue to perform its duties in line with its mandate, and unprovoked attacks against personnel of the Commission will no longer be tolerated,” the EFCC said.
