By Emiola Osifeso
EFCC operatives in the early hours of Friday stormed Paradise Estate at Lifecamp, Abuja, forcefully breaking into private homes and leaving residents shaken and angry. The raid, which began around 1 a.m., was carried out by fierce-looking men who identified themselves as officials of the anti-graft commission.
They shattered windows, gained entry into apartments, searched through residents’ phones and deleted recordings, while also attempting to erase CCTV footage that captured their actions.
One victim recounted the ordeal: “About 55 minutes ago, around 1am, six men came banging at our door, threatening to pull down the door and force their way in. My family and I are still traumatized. They collected and searched through our phones, asking questions, including who owned the Benz parked outside. They claimed to be from the EFCC, forcefully took my wife’s phone while she was recording them, and deleted her recording.
They equally attempted to delete the CCTV footage after noticing the cameras. These were fierce-looking men, and throughout the ordeal we couldn’t even get hold of the estate security: the CSO’s number wasn’t going through and the estate gate phone just kept ringing. At this point, it’s safe to conclude that we only have gatemen, not real security at the gate. With that number of men trying to enter one’s home at such an hour, the least the gate could have done was to pick our calls to confirm that they were truly law enforcement officers. We weren’t even sure whether they were kidnappers or armed robbers. After all of this, they simply apologised and left.”
Another resident who arrived at the estate during the operation also shared his experience. “This is very absurd. I was on my way into the estate at about 2:24am and I was stopped at the entrance of the gate by the same team. I was told they were looking for someone and which I proceeded to ask them for the name of the person and their warrant. The officers couldn’t come up with a tangible excuse and started asking me questions about what I do for a living and also asked to search my phone which I willingly gave to them. After a couple of minutes I was forced to show them my ID card after which they let me go. The security men need to be held accountable for this. If they truly have a warrant, the CSO should lead them to the house of the person they are looking for so they can carry out their job without harassing other residents.”
The facility manager of the estate also confirmed the raid and admitted it was poorly handled. “This is Terrible, at Odd hour. The EFCC team lead told CSO they have notified LIFECAMP police station before coming, I sent a message immediately to the Security Chairman and Residents Chairman.”
Anger continues to mount among residents, with many insisting that the EFCC acted unlawfully. One resident charged the estate management and victims to take immediate legal steps. “I think the estate management should take steps on this by not just talking and lamenting. They need to be sued for this illegality by the management itself and by the victims. The government has power but there are laws that guide them. EFCC can conduct searches, seize property, and make arrests in the course of investigations. However, they are generally required to obtain a search warrant from a court before entering and searching private premises. Even in limited situations like a hot pursuit of a suspect or when evidence may be destroyed if they delay, the law allows entry without a warrant. But this must be justified in court. Otherwise, the search or arrest could be declared unlawful. And we all know that in this case, what they have done is completely illegal and unlawful. If all we do after this is to move on and accept an apology, then we are not helping. They must face the wrath of the law too. The management of Paradise Estate must sue them, the victims also must, and the entire residents’ union must sue them.”
This incident comes against the backdrop of recent remarks by EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who said the Commission will be “going from estate to estate” in Abuja and other parts of the country as part of efforts to trace properties linked to corrupt funds. He had stated publicly that a significant number of abandoned estates in the FCT and elsewhere were owned by civil servants who used stolen public funds to finance their construction. “We will start visiting all the estates, not only in Abuja but across Nigeria. We want to know who owns what,” Olukoyede had said.
The midnight operation at Paradise Estate, however, has triggered outrage among residents who say they were treated as suspects in their own homes and subjected to trauma without any warrant or legal justification.
Discussion about this post