The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has dismissed claims that it raided the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during an operation that led to the arrest of 93 suspected internet fraudsters.
The clarification comes after the management of the OOPL demanded ₦3.5 billion in compensation and a public apology, describing the August 12 incident as an unlawful invasion of private property and a violation of the rights of those present.
In a statement on Thursday, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale explained that the arrests took place at a hotel situated within the OOPL precincts and not in the library itself. He said intelligence revealed that the suspects were holding a pool party to celebrate alleged fraudulent activities.
“The party, which was initially planned to hold at two other venues, was moved to the hotel in OOPL in a bid to avoid detection,” Oyewale said. “Almost all of the suspects have been indicted for offences including impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud.”
Oyewale added that 23 of the suspects would be arraigned on Friday, August 15, before Justice D. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, with the remaining suspects to be charged in subsequent proceedings.
He stressed that the operation was not targeted at the former president’s facility, noting: “The planners got wind of the Commission’s intelligence and scampered to the OOPL, expecting some sort of cover from arrest. The OOPL was never the target; the suspects were.”
According to him, the EFCC’s profiling revealed that many of the arrested individuals had already confessed to participating in cybercrime.
