The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed claims that it targeted the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in its recent arrest of 93 suspected internet fraudsters.
On Wednesday, the management of the OOPL accused the EFCC of invading its premises, demanding ₦3.5 billion in compensation and a public apology. It described the raid as an infringement on its corporate rights and those of attendees at a private event.
In a statement on Thursday, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale clarified that the arrests took place at a hotel located within the precincts of the OOPL, not inside the library itself. He said the suspects were apprehended during a pool party allegedly organised to celebrate illicit activities.
According to Oyewale, the party—initially planned for two other venues—was relocated to the hotel within the OOPL grounds to evade detection. “The former President’s facility was not a target of the EFCC’s operations. The suspects were the target and have confessed their involvement in internet crimes,” he said.
The EFCC said profiling revealed that almost all of the arrested individuals were implicated in offences such as impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud.
Oyewale confirmed that 23 of the suspects will be arraigned on Friday, August 15, before Justice D. Dipeolu at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, while the rest will face trial in subsequent batches.
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