By David Orji
Parents of students arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the private hostels of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, on Friday demanded justice from the authorities.
The parents who came under the Coalition of Parents OAU Students Arrested by EFCC, spoke in Lagos during a press conference.
Yinka Junaid who spoke on behalf of the coalition at the conference attended by other parents, insisted that thorough investigations are needed to unravel the exact cases for which they were arrested.
The parents accused the EFCC of pulling down social media posts made on the arrests of the students adding that the posts were removed once there was an uproar on the arrests.
Junaid, the acting chairman of the committee, said “69 students were illegally arrested, 58 has been released and 11 charged to court;
“The act from EFCC was uncalled for and uncouth as students were put at the risk of the night and were made to face the riwks of criminals which has caused the released students to be traumatized,” He said.
He commended the efforts of the Student Union Government, and the school authorities for their unwavering support to the students.
Speaking further at the press conference, Junaid said “We, as parents, are deeply disturbed and outraged by the manner in which this operation was conducted. We believe that the actions of the EFCC were not only illegal, but also violated the fundamental rights of our children.
“Their rights to privacy, dignity, personal liberty amongst others, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, were blatantly disregarded in this operation. Right now, all the children and even some of us parents are already being treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of this unfortunate event.”
NPO had earlier reported of the EFCC’s arraignment of 11 of thee students before Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, Osun State over alleged involvement in internet fraud.
“In compliance with relevant Nigerian laws, we would not say anything about this matter that is before a competent court of law and we strongly hold on to the constitutional provision that a suspect is innocent until found guilty by a court and we have utmost confidence in the Nigerian judiciary to be just and fair in the handling of their cases,” he said on behalf of other parents.
Junaid further emphasizd that the agency should release the students and return their devices which were seized during the raid.
He said the students are being subjected to dangers as those released are told to report to the EFCC in Ibadan, a distance of about 100 kilometre from Ife.
Among others, the parents the raids on the students were done without due process saying established protocols and legal procedures in conducting this operation were ignored.
“No search warrant was presented (but rather guns), and our children were arrested without any proper explanation or justification, and treated with such shame and disdain.
“In fact, we strongly believe that no prior investigation, as dictated by law was conducted sequel to the operation. Conversely, it was a case of the students already presumed and labelled guilty, and each one having to prove his innocence.”
Accusing the EFCC of unlawful invasion of privacy, the parents said the invasion of the students’ hostels during the early hours of the morning, in what they called “gestapo-like manner” was a gross violation of their rights to privacy.
“Such actions, without any prior investigation, concrete evidence or reasonable suspicion, are unacceptable and can never be justified. We therefore seek to know what excuse or justification accounted for jettisoning all known standard protocol on investigation and arrest.
“We, as parents, stand firmly in defence of our children’s rights and demand the following:
– Unconditional release and Clearance: We call on the EFCC to completely release all our children on whom nothing has been found unconditionally, and without delay.
-We also demand that the agency expunge their names, pictures, identities, biometrics and everything pertaining to them from all EFCC records and all social media platforms.
-We expect the announcement of the removal of their names followed by the issuance of a public apology. The public apology must be advertised in leading national newspapers and circulated on all its (EFCC) social media handles, websites, independent online media outlets, and all news agencies in the country.
“We also call on the agency to speedily conclude its investigations on students who have been released but whose devices including academic tools are still being held.”