The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has clarified its involvement in the incident at Urban 94.5FM radio station in Enugu on October 14, 2024.
In a statement released on X on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity at EFCC, clarified that contrary to the radio station’s claims, EFCC operatives did not invade its live broadcast, abduct presenters, or confiscate transmission equipment.
“Ekoh is being investigated by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the EFCC in an alleged N700 million Ponzi scheme fraud involving about Fifty (50) victims,” the statement stated.
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According to Oyewale, the EFCC alleged that Ekoh lured 50 victims into investing in a scheme called “Life Trading” through Leverage Index Limited, with promises of 10% returns on investment. The victims claimed that the company closed its office without returning their investments or principal.
The statement explained, “At the Radio Station, operatives of the Commission, holding a warrant of arrest for Ekoh, identified themselves as officers of the EFCC. They informed the Managing Director of the Station, Bamikole Owoyomi, about their mission. However, in a rather strange twist, a staff of the Station called the Chairman of the Radio Station who ordered that the gate of the building be locked in and out, thereby holding the officers hostage.”
READ MORE: Live Broadcast Disrupted As EFCC Raids Enugu Radio Station
The EFCC emphasized that Ekoh was not arrested on air, and no equipment was tampered with. She has since been released after making a statement.
The commission also calls on the International Press Institute and the Nigerian Union of Journalists to investigate the radio station’s conduct regarding integrity and ethical professional practice.
As Oyewale noted, “The Commission holds the media in high esteem both as the fourth estate of the realm and a critical stakeholder in the fight against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption, but the precipitate and unlawful obstruction of officers of the Commission from carrying out their duties, by staff of the Radio Station, is unacceptable.”
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