EFCC Replies The Sun Newspaper, You Lied, We Didn’t Molest Your Staff

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, explained why it invaded the headquarters of The Sun Newspaper in Lagos.

The Sun Management had revealed that armed operatives of the anti-graft agency, in the early hours of Monday, arrived at its head office saying they had “orders from above” to seal up the premises.

The newspaper had further stated that the EFCC had ordered its security personnel to take them round the company premises at gunpoint.

According to it, the agency subjected its staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma.

“At gunpoint, they ordered our security personnel to take them round the company premises, after which they proceeded to prevent staff from either entering or leaving the premises, and disrupted our circulation process.

“For one grueling hour, EFCC operatives subjected our staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma, even as some of the men accused our organization of publishing pro-Biafra, Boko Haram and Niger Delta militant stories, as they surveyed our premises,” read the statement issued by The Sun management.

But the EFCC in its response said that its invasion of the Newspaper was part of routine efforts to ascertain the state of the assets of the publishing company which is subject of subsisting interim forfeiture order.

It further said that its officials did not molest staff of the newspaper as claimed, adding that its action was without prejudice to any appeal and only meant to verify the integrity of the assets.

“The Commission still awaits the response of the Sun and will not be distracted by any attempt to whip up sentiments by alluding to an appeal which has been pending for ten years,” Wilson Uwujaren, the commission’s spokesperson said.

“Contrary to claims in a statement released to the media by the mPro-Biafra

anagement of the Sun, no staff of the media outfit was molested or intimidated for the few minutes that operatives of the Commission spent in the premises of the company.

“The claim that ‘EFCC operatives subjected our staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma, even as some of the men accused our organization of publishing pro-Biafra, Boko Haram , and Niger Delta Militant stories,’ is strange and clearly the figment of the imagination of the Sun.

“There was no reason to molest anybody as the commission has always related professionally with the publishing outfit.”

Mr. Uwujaren said the attempt to link their visit to Mr. Magu’s threat to sue the organisation over a libelous publication was diversionary.

“Magu is pursuing that option in his private capacity and his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, did write the Sun and his letter was widely published in the media on March 31, 2017.”