EFCC Arrests Groom, 49 Others Over Alleged Internet Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the early hours of Saturday arrested a groom and 49 others during the bachelor’s eve in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

This development came as the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of South-West, Mr. Sylvester Alabi charged police officers with professionalism towards eradicating the issues of kidnapping and other criminalities in the zone.

Alabi, made the charge while addressing the officers and men of the state command in Akure. He said the time had come for police officers to engage community and religious leaders to tackle criminality in the society.

In the raid of the night club, where the arrest was made by the EFCC officials, sources said the groom and his friends were celebrating bachelor’s eve when men of the anti-graft agency swooped on them and whisked them away, truncating the wedding ceremony that was supposed to take place in the early hours of the day.

The groom and his friends were alleged to have been involved in internet fraud.

The raid, which occurred around 1 am, involved EFCC personnel arriving in various vehicles and reportedly included instances of gunfire.

The EFCC officials seized numerous vehicles, laptops, high-end smartphones, and other items during the operation.

The source said, “They were entering the nightclubs and lounges, tear-gassing people, beating them up and arresting them. They don’t care who are, even two soldiers were injured as they shot tear gas canisters inside one of the clubs.

“They also went away with a groom and his friends at a club, he was there for his bash eve, so sad as they profiled everyone as Internet fraudsters.”

Meanwhile, Alabi said his visit to the state was on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to all the zonal DIGs to assess security situations in their respective zone.

The police boss, however, said fighting crime in the southwest had yielded positive results, but there was a need to do more.

His words “When something happens unexpectedly, the officer must go back to the drawing board and re-strategies. Policing is not a tea party, it is a very serious, tedious, physically, and mentally challenged job.

“So, it is a job that entails total commitment and total dedication, because we owe members of the public a duty to secure their lives and properties. Generally, South-West is one of the most peaceful zones we have in the country today, but I don’t want you to be carried away so that you will not get embarrassed.

“So, it’s time for you to double your efforts and ensure the pocket of occasional kidnapping and occasional armed robbery being experienced becomes a thing of the past. We need to sit down and do serious planning to eradicate any incident of kidnapping in Ondo State.”

Alabi called on police officers to imbibe the ethics of the job, saying corruption and extortion would not be condoned.

His words “As police officers, you can do your job and earn a good job without delving into all those unprofessional and unethical conducts. I am admonishing you to desist from that and it is better for you to attract goodwill for yourself from well-meaning Nigerians.

“Because if you do your job diligently and show that you are a man of integrity, you will be loved by people and gain more confidence and trust from people,” he said.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 17, Abiodun Asabi assured the DIG that the zone would continue to fall in line with the agenda of the IGP.

Asabi said, “We are not going to rest on accolades that our zone is the most peaceful in the country, we will continue to push our zone more to be free from any form of criminality.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladipo said the command has mapped out plans to ensure that the state is devoid of actions and inactions that can heat the polity ahead of the November 16th, 2024 governorship election in the state.