Christopher E. Mene, a Nigerian lawyer who practices in The Gambia, has expressed his outrage over the alleged invasion of his property by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Benin, Edo State.
According to Mene, the EFCC officials stormed his property, which consists of 12 three-bedroom flats, at about 2am on May 23 and arrested 44 persons, including his tenants and their cars.
Mene said he was in Nigeria from The Gambia for the naming ceremony of his newborn baby when he received a call from one of his guards informing him of the incident.
He said he went to inspect the damage done to his property and found out that the EFCC officials had broken the padlock on the gate, smashed all the security doors on each flat, brutalised the occupants, and left blood stains on the ground and on the wall.
He said he estimated the cost of replacing the damaged doors at N4.179 million, adding that he might incur more expenses for other repairs.
He also said he learnt from some relatives of the tenants that the EFCC officials were demanding N1 million from each tenant for their release.
Mene said he tried to lodge a complaint at the Ugbowo police station but was told by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) that the police would not interfere with the work of EFCC.
However, when contacted by our correspondent, the spokesman of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said the commission carried out a sting operation in which 44 internet fraud suspects were arrested at different locations in Benin.
He said 33 of them were found to be culpable of the alleged crime and that he would confirm whether Mene’s property was affected by the operation.
He also denied that the commission’s standard procedure was to break into property except when there was a willful attempt by suspects to evade arrest.
He said the claims of gestapo-style operation with many damaged doors and bribe demand for bail were strange and unfounded.
He urged the suspects to file a complaint with the Department of Internal Affairs if they had any evidence of such demands.
