About Twenty-Four after some of its personnel clashed with operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Kaduna State on Friday, November 17, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have opened up on the unfortunate incident.
Reports had gone viral on social media about how some Air Force personnel stormed the EFCC Command headquarters in Kaduna to secure the release of its men who were arrested by the anti-graft agency.
Upon inquiry, the NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, who disclosed that the relevant authorities are still studying the incident, was further quoted as saying in a text message “For now, we are still studying the issue.”
On his part, EFCC’s acting spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, who confirmed the incident, explained that the Commission had to exercise restraint in the face of the provocation and flagrant abuse of power by the NAF personnel.
However, Oyewale stated that the EFCC later released the affected personnel to the NAF Provost after they were duly profiled, noting that there was a communication breakdown between the leaderships of the two agencies.
According to him; “Operatives of the Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC, on Monday, November 13, 2023, arrested five suspects at a residential Inn and Disney Chicken Eatery, Barnawa, Kaduna following credible intelligence about their alleged internet-related fraud activities.
“The suspected fraudsters: Favour Itung, Rachael Ande, Suleiman Haruna, Abubakar Ismaila, and Solomon Olobatoke, were arrested without any incident.
“However, after the sting operation, six military personnel who witnessed the operation at Disney Chicken Eatery stormed the Kaduna Command and attempted to forcibly release the arrested fraud suspects.
“They were subdued and detained over the security breach. While in detention, there was inter-agency communication and discussions by the leadership of the EFCC and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to resolve the issues.
“Unfortunately, dialogue on the release of the combative Air Force personnel broke down on Friday, November 17, 2023, when some unruly NAF Officers stormed the Kaduna Command in a commando-style, to forcefully release their detained colleagues.”
“The EFCC exercised restraint in the face of the provocation and flagrant abuse of power. The Commission continued to engage with the leadership of the Nigeria Air Force and released the officers to the NAF Provost after they had been duly profiled”, the EFCC image maker said
