The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has demanded an apology from the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for what it called its agents’ “invasion of private property.” The Library also threatened to sue the EFCC if it didn’t denounce the obscene behavior of its agents.
In a statement issued yesterday in Abeokuta by Managing Director Vitalis Ortese, OOPL said that more than fifty EFCC agents had broken into a private gathering taking place on company property at around two in the morning on Sunday, brandishing firearms and threatening to murder attendees.
According to the statement, participants attempting to flee the shooting suffered severe injuries as a result of the anti-graft agency’s agents, commanded by one Olopade, storming the OOPL in a “Gestapo-style” and causing severe panic and disorder.
It added that inhabitants of the area were terrified by the near-carnage nature of the altercation.
Following a phone call, the “Olapade” told Mr. Vitalis Ortese, the Managing Director of the OOPL establishment, that they were responding to an intelligence report regarding a private event taking place at the complex’s amusement center.
“They also informed management that the police have been duly informed of the operation. It should be noted that the event was a private event that had been widely advertised to members of the public for days prior.” EFCC claimed.
However, Ortese claimed that neither the police officers positioned at the OOPL gates nor the extra officers dispatched from the Kemta Police Station at the request of the event’s management or organizers had been notified of any EFCC-planned operations and had not produced a warrant.
The full statement reads,
“When the armed men were accosted by OOPL security and assisting police officers, they simply retorted, “We are doing our job”.
“Management wishes to state that this action by the EFCC is a clear case of invasion of private property, infringement of OOPL rights as corporate citizens, and indeed a stark and blatant violation of the rights of the people who gathered for the event.
“Management has commenced its investigation of the invasion and will take up the matter with the highest authorities, including the EFCC, the police, and the Department of State Security.
“In the meantime, management demands an explanation of these impudent actions from the Commission and an apology from the EFCC authorities for the infringement of its rights, to all those who gathered, and those who sustained serious injuries from the gangster-like induced chaos.
“Failure for which the management will be compelled to seek redress and appropriate sanctions.”
