EFCC to charge NAF personnel to court ‘over attempt to free fraud suspects’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says some operatives of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) who allegedly stormed the Kaduna command of the agency to free suspected fraudsters would be charged in court. 

On Friday, commotion ensued at the Kaduna office of the EFCC when operatives of the anti-graft agency engaged in a  confrontation with some NAF personnel over the arrest of suspected fraudsters.

According to Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, operatives of the agency arrested five suspects on Monday at an inn and Disney Chicken Eatery in the Barnawa area of Kaduna after “credible intelligence”.

The suspects — Favour Itung, Rachael Ande, Zuleiman Haruna, Abubakar Ismaila and Solomon Olobatoke — were arrested without any incident.

Oyewale added that days after the arrest, Lawal Abdullahi, Chukwuma Chidi Christian, Alfa Suleiman and Emmanuel Ekwozor, air force personnel, alongside Chidera Anuba and Joseph Tokula, two students of Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology, stormed the EFCC office in an attempt to allegedly free the suspects but they were all arrested.

He added that the arrested NAF officers were released after “they had been duly profiled”.

However, in a statement on Saturday, Oyewale confirmed that the erring officers would be arraigned before the court after the conclusion of the investigation into the incident.

He added that “no one is above the law”, adding that due process would be followed in bringing the case to a conclusion.

“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel released on administrative bail by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, November 17, 2023, will be charged to court at the conclusion of the ongoing investigation,” the statement reads.

“The officers were released to their Service in strict adherence to the bail procedures of the Commission.

“The Commission reiterates the fact that no one is above the law and the due process will be followed in bringing the case to a conclusion.”