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Youths protest EFCC’s illegal arrest, detention in Ibadan

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Scores of youths on Thursday staged a peaceful protest against the alleged illegal arrest and detention of innocent youths by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The youths, who stormed the state Secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan, in a convoy of over 20 vehicles, carried banners with various inscriptions and chanted solidarity songs to express their displeasure with the conduct of the anti-graft agency.

Some of the placards read: “End EFCC”; “It is unjust for EFCC to arrest innocent merely on a phantom and unverified allegation” and “EFCC leave us alone.”

They barricaded the entrance to the Secretariat and made visitors and others stranded for several hours.

The protest led to heavy traffic gridlock along Bodija, Parliament Road, and Total Garden Roads, among other areas in the axis.

The protesters alleged that the EFCC operatives had virtually turned themselves into a “mafia” assaulting innocent youths.

READ ALSO: Protest in Ekiti Varsity over arrest of students by EFCC

The youths accused EFCC of carrying out illegal house searches and the arrest of innocent persons.

The spokesman for the protesters, Olamide Ayobami, said: “We are tired of indiscriminate arrest and detention by EFCC officers.

“The operatives are in the habit of entering our homes without a warrant of arrest to intimidate us, accusing us of internet fraud and forcefully detained us over mere allegations.

“We have our legitimate livelihoods and these officers do arrest us because we are living fine.

“We want the government to intervene and prevail on EFCC to stop harassing us.”

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