Obasanjo Presidential Library Condemns EFCC’s Midnight Raid On Hotel

THE management of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, has condemned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over its midnight raid on Green Legacy Hotel, located within its premises.
In a statement, the management claimed that over 50 armed men claiming to be EFCC operatives stormed the library premises around 2 a.m. in an operation it described as “gestapo-like” without presenting any warrant or informing the Police officers stationed at the facility.
In a detailed account of the incident, the management said officers of the Commission, led by one “Olapade,” reportedly fired gunshots, threatened to kill people and caused widespread panic, leading to serious injuries among the event attendees while trying to escape the shooting, with residents on the site left terrified.
According to the statement: “On inquiry by phone, the “Olapade” informed the Managing Director of the OOPL establishment, Vitalis Ortese, that they were acting on an intelligence tip about a private event in the amusement facility of the complex.
“They also informed management that the Police had been duly informed of the operation.”
It was gathered that during the raid, the operatives arrested suspected Internet fraudsters at the venue.
EFCC, in a post on its official X page, confirmed that operatives from its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 arrested 93 suspected Internet fraudsters on Sunday, August 10, in a sting operation in Abeokuta, following credible intelligence about their suspected involvement in Internet crimes.
It added: “Upon their arrest, 18 vehicles and mobile devices were recovered from them. They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.”
However, the library management has disputed the circumstances surrounding the raid, insisting it was a private event that had been publicly advertised for days, and that Police officers stationed at the OOPL gates and additional personnel from the Kemta Police Station deployed at the request of event organisers and management were not informed of the planned operation.
It stressed that the EFCC operatives failed to present any warrant and “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,” the statement noted.
The OOPL said it has commenced its own investigation into the incident, vowing to take the matter up with the highest authorities, including the EFCC, the Police and Department of State Service (DSS).
OOPL is a historic and academic centre conceived in 1988, years after then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo stepped down in 1979 as the military head of state.
Incorporated in November 2002 as a not-for-profit organisation, two years into Obasanjo’s tenure as civilian President, it was only officially inaugurated on 4 March 4, 2017.