Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ilefe have demanded an apology from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after it arrested 69 suspects in an off-campus hostel attack early on Wednesday morning.
The university’s student union announced that the person arrested was a university student. The students were transported by the EFCC from the university premises in Ile-Ife, Osun State to the commission office in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
However, 58 of the students were released following a protest by students who stormed the regional office of the Anti-Corruption Agency in Iyaganku, Ibadan on Wednesday.
OAU Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, confirmed the release of the students to Punch Metro on Wednesday evening, saying: The remaining 11 of them have cases to answer.”
However, things took a turn on Thursday when checks on the verified Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram pages of the EFCC showed that the previous posts on the arrest of the suspects could not be found.
Our correspondent made efforts to reach out to the Head, Media & Publicity Unit of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, on why the posts were deleted and the fate of the remaining 11 suspects. Oyewale has not answered several calls and a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
In the deleted posts, the EFCC had on Wednesday said, “They (the 69 suspects) were arrested on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at the Oduduwa Estate area of Ile-Ife, Osun State, following actionable intelligence on their suspected involvement in fraudulent Internet-related activities. Credible intelligence linked the Oduduwa Estate with activities of suspected internet fraudsters.”
The agency disclosed further that, “The suspects have made useful statements to the EFCC and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a statement signed by the Students` Union officials which was sent to PUNCH Metro demanded that the EFCC should clear the names of their members, saying efforts were on to seek the release of the remaining 11.
“Furthermore, in view of the students’ demands for release, the union leadership has engaged legal practitioners to ensure the protection of Great Ife students on and off campus from the decadent acts of these misguided law enforcement agencies.”
“We further note that the EFCC is committed to unjustified claims from unsubstantiated allegations published on its media channels and circulated across the country where previously published posts have already been removed. “We demand that they propose a publication revealing the names of those detained (students) on all their social media platforms,” the statement, co-authored by union president Abbas Ojo, said. has been written. Secretary-General Akinboni Opeyemi and PRO Omisore Elijah said in part:
Mr. Omisore further spoke to our correspondent, PRO of the union, who said, “We want the EFCC to apologize and clear the names of the students (who were previously released).” said. Other students were still at the EFCC office in Ibadan.