Escaped Suspect Shot Dead, Spokesman Explains

Spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Dele Oyewale, tells CHUKWUDI AKASIKE the circumstances that led to the death of 16-year-old Sesugh Atsar A woman, Ms Jennifer Atsar, has accused some operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of killing her 16-year-old son. How would you react to this? Let me tell you the background to the whole issue. A group of suspected internet fraudsters was arrested and taken to our holding facility in Makurdi. The three of them were arrested on April 26. On May 5, three of them said they wanted to use the toilet. Of course, they have the right to use the toilet. However, from the toilet, they climbed through the roof and escaped. What happened after the three of them escaped? When they escaped, we were on a manhunt for them, trying to bring them back. After a while, we got intelligence that they were all somewhere on the axis that the police mentioned in their report. So, normally, as a responsible law enforcement agency that had been on a manhunt for them, we went there. As we were getting there, they opened fire on our operatives. As a defence mechanism, we also had to respond. It was a gun duel; they wanted to kill our operatives, but one of them fell and was taken to the Police Cottage Hospital. We then reported the matter to the police, and they began an investigation. The report of the police investigation is what you saw in their press release. Related News BREAKING: Ex-UNILORIN VC, AbdulGaniyu Ambali, dies at 68 Justice can’t restore my legs, eye lost to terrorists — Owo attack survivor Eight Anambra pastors remanded over fake miracles So, we didn’t kill anybody; we are doing our work lawfully, and we made some arrests. Some of them escaped from custody, and we went after them and, in an attempt to arrest those who escaped, they started firing. They wanted to kill our operatives. No law enforcement officer would be faced with such a gun challenge and not respond. But the mother of the child specifically said her child was on bail when EFCC operatives shot him dead. How could somebody on bail escape from lawful custody? Which bail? Who was his surety? When was he bailed? If he was bailed, why would there be a need for a gun battle? This defies logic. Three of them escaped from lawful custody, and for a number of days, we were looking for them until we got intelligence that one of them was somewhere in the Makurdi axis. On getting there, they opened fire on our people. We are even thankful that none of our operatives lost their lives in the process. Have you put any security measures in place to ensure that such an escape will not happen again? The fact is that people escaping from lawful custody happens all over the world; sometimes, you have jailbreaks and all of that. Our systems are solidly fortified against such incidents. I told you they escaped through the roof of the toilet. Would you prevent a suspect from using the toilet? So, don’t put the responsibility for the escape of the suspects from custody on the EFCC. The commission should not be held responsible for that. Chukwudi Akasike