Mr. Ugochukwu Ezeanyagu, a businessman based in Abia State, has recounted the traumatic experience his family endured when officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stormed his home in the early hours of Friday, December 6, on a wrongful suspicion of internet fraud.
Speaking to ABN TV, Mr. Ezeanyagu disclosed that the raid occurred at about 2 a.m. at their residence in Umuobia Olokoro Estate, Umuahia. The heavily armed EFCC operatives, some of whom were masked, forcefully broke the gates and doors with hammers to gain entry into their home.
“The most humiliating part was that my wife, who is over eight months pregnant, was completely naked and asleep when they burst into our room. They didn’t care about her state or modesty; they just ordered us to lie face down, treating us like hardened criminals,” Mr. Ezeanyagu recounted.
According to him, the EFCC operatives refused to disclose their mission or the directive under which they acted. They seized his phone and other electronic devices in an attempt to find incriminating evidence. However, after thorough checks, they found nothing linking him to internet fraud or any criminal activity.
“When they realized they had made a mistake, they apologized and left, but the damage was already done. My pregnant wife was thrown into a state of shock and trauma due to the incident and has been hospitalized since,” he lamented.
ABN TV has been unsuccessful in reaching the EFCC Head of Media & Publicity, Mr. Dele Oyewale, for comments on the incident.
This incident is not the first of its kind in Abia State. In a similar scenario three years ago, EFCC officials wrongfully raided the home of a journalist, Norah Okafor, also in Umuahia. These repeated occurrences have raised concerns about the agency’s operational methods and the lack of accountability for such errors.
Mr. Ezeanyagu has called for justice and urged the EFCC to adopt more professional and humane approaches in their operations to avoid causing unnecessary harm to innocent citizens.
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