The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has refused to state the exact time of the operation that led to the death of Aminu Sahabi Salisu, one of its officers, in Anambra on Friday.
During a raid on his house in Awka on that day, resident Joshua Chukwubueze Ikechukwu shot Salisu, an assistant superintendent of the EFCC.
“Salisu, alongside other investigators of the EFCC, were at Dr J.O. Ukwutinife Close, Ifite, Awka, Anambra State, to arrest some suspected internet fraudsters in the early hours of January 17,” the EFCC stated on Sunday via Dele Oyewale, its spokesperson.
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EFCC PRESS STATEMENTEFCC Bans Sting Operations at NightIn line with the newly-reviewed procedures on arrest and bail of suspects by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has directed that sting… pic.twitter.com/DpnGEgCOC3— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) November 1, 2023
Before Oyewale issued the statement on Sunday, some reports stated that the EFCC officers had conducted a night raid on Ikechukwu’s house. While some social media users claimed the officers broke into the house past midnight, others said it was around 3 am.
These claims gained traction because the EFCC banned night raids on November 1, 2024, following the controversial arrest of 69 Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) students, some of whom were suspected of internet fraud.
When FIJ called Oyewale to confirm the exact time of the legitimate duty, he maintained that the officers carried out the operation “in the early hours of the day” but couldn’t state the time.
When pressed further, the EFCC spokesman said that was all he could say. He then denied claims that the officers had conducted the operation at night, violating the ban imposed on such raids months earlier.
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Regarding Friday’s operation, the statement released by the spokesperson states, “The operation was initially smooth sailing with 37 suspected internet fraudsters already arrested at a two-storey building housing Ikechukwu and other occupants of the house.
“However, Ikechukwu, who sighted the investigators through a CCTV Camera mounted at his doorpost and who also confessed to sighting them, declined to open his door for the investigators who politely demanded entrance to his apartment.
“Defying all the introduction and physical sighting of the investigators, he resorted to firing shots at them and killed Salisu in the process and wounded another officer detailed to conduct a search in his apartment.”
The statement omitted the exact time of the operation.
The post FIJ Requested Time of Raid That Led to Officer’s Death in Anambra. EFCC Couldn’t Say appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.