A media practitioner, Mr. Akinrinlola Olumide, has called on the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to caution the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over its brutality of Nigerians and a series of reported unprofessional conducts.
Olumide was reacting to the recent action of the EFCC operatives in the assault of a female staff and other guests at the Regional Hotel in Ojo, Lagos State.
A footage had surfaced on Thursday, showing some EFCC operatives assaulting guests and employees at the Annex and Regional hotels in Lagos.
A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage had captured the moment when the operatives forcibly entered a hotel room and physically assaulted a woman, who was wearing a nightgown, slapping her repeatedly.
The operatives didn’t know that CCTV was in the room, as the five personnel ransacked the room after driving the young woman out of the room.
The incident had raised concerns about the use of excessive force by the EFCC operatives. However, Akinrinlola in a statement on Friday said the unprofessional conduct of EFCC should be stopped before the brutality of the notorious officers began to claim lives.
He explained that it was the same way men of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operated before it was scrapped.
“Today, I watched the video of how they invaded the Regional Hotel in Ojo, Lagos State with indiscriminate – Sporadic gunshots and the manhandling of a female staff. “The video revealed how the EFCC officers broke into the room and assaulted a staff of the hotel in an unprofessional operation.
“This was how the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) started their unprofessional conduct and ended the lives of many innocent Nigerians untimely while hunting for yahoo boys (internet fraudsters).
“I lost a friend in Ibadan who was going to work in 2019 due to the unprofessional conduct and sporadic shooting by SARS operatives who were chasing internet fraudsters.
“The EFCC officials have started the same evil now without the government calling them to order.
“Two weeks ago, they carried out a similar invasion in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where they apparently pounced on people and beat them to stupor with many people sustaining varying degrees of injuries, including a groom and his bride.
“This shenanigan, evil, and unprofessional conduct should stop now before the brutality of the notorious officers begins to claim lives.”
