Resort Proprietor Cries Foul Over EFCC Raid In Abuja

The proprietor of Joyous Resort and Suites in Nyanya, Abuja, Mr. Gabriel Ogwuche Ogah, has raised issues over what he described as an unprovoked and disruptive operation by operatives of the {Economic} and {Financial} Crimes Fee (EFCC) on the facility

Ogah petitioned the EFCC over what he described as an “unlawful, violent, and damaging raid” by the fee’s operatives.

On June 30, 2025, the EFCC introduced the arrest of 74 people on the resort, claiming the suspects had been concerned in web fraud.

In keeping with the fee, the arrests adopted “actionable intelligence,” and 86 cell phones, a pistol, and three bikes had been recovered throughout the operation. The company mentioned the suspects could be prosecuted.

Nonetheless, the assertion didn’t point out whether or not a search warrant was obtained.

Talking with journalists, Ogah denied the EFCC’s account and described the incident as a raid within the early hours of the fateful day by unidentified armed males who didn’t current a warrant or correctly introduce themselves.

He mentioned the lads assaulted the resort workers, vandalised some property and confiscated very important gear and paperwork.

“They destroyed our management room, eliminated our CCTV machines, broke doorways, and beat up my workers. Up until now, we don’t have any footage, data, or visitor checklist for that evening. They took every part away,” he mentioned.

Ogah claimed that the newest raid was the second similarly, recalling that the sooner incident occurred on April 28, 2025, which was allegedly carried out with out documentation or prior discover.

“In each circumstances, there was no formal introduction, no uniforms, and no warrant. We had been merely left to cope with the aftermath,” he mentioned, including that his authorized crew had petitioned each the EFCC and the inspector-general of police (IGP), demanding explanations and compensation for the damages.

Additionally, a supervisor on the resort, Ms. Vivian Azubuike, mentioned within the April incident, the operatives arrived at at 2 a.m., pressured entry into the resort’s management room, took the CCTV footage, broke down doorways, and assaulted the staff.

“That very evening, I heard a noise upstairs and despatched the safety personnel to analyze. Whereas doing that, a gaggle of males stormed the premises. They pressured their means into the management room, took our CCTV recordings and recognized themselves as EFCC. In addition they broke a number of doorways and took away two people,” she mentioned.

One other supervisor, Mr. Apeh Monday, claimed that one of many friends jumped out of the window, considering that the resort was below assault by robbers. “He broke his leg. A workers member who was slapped throughout the incident has since resigned,” he added.

Ogah expressed issues concerning the EFCC’s assertion {that a} pistol was discovered on the premises and questioned the hyperlink between the arrested people and his resort.

“A few of the operatives had their faces coated. How may we even confirm who they had been? And the way can we verify that these arrested had been our friends when all our data had been taken away?” he mentioned.