The ongoing saga involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Air Force shows no signs of resolution, as the EFCC has declared its intention to take legal action against Air Force operatives involved in a recent incident at the Kaduna command.
According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, who made the announcement in Abuja on Saturday, a group of Air Force operatives had stormed the Kaduna command of the agency to liberate individuals suspected of fraud. The EFCC had initially detained five Nigeria Air Force officers—Favour Itung, Rachael Ande, Zuleiman Haruna, Abubakar Ismaila, and Solomon Olobatoke—on Monday in Kaduna’s Barnawa area based on “credible intelligence,” and the arrests proceeded without complications.
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However, four days later, NAF personnel reportedly made an attempt to release the detainees from EFCC custody. The individuals implicated in this alleged attempt include Lawal Abdullahi, Chukwuma Chidi Christian, Alfa Suleiman, Emmanuel Ekwozor (Air Force personnel), and Chidera Anuba and Joseph Tokula (students of the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology).
Following a thorough profiling process, the EFCC released the detained NAF officers to the NAF Provost, citing a breakdown in communication between the leadership of the two agencies. Nevertheless, Oyewale, in a statement on Saturday, confirmed that the officers involved would face charges in court after the conclusion of nvestigation is concluded. He emphasized the commitment to upholding the rule of law, assuring that the legal process would be strictly adhered to in resolving the case.
The EFCC’s official statement highlighted, “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel released on administrative bail by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, November 17, 2023, will be charged to court at the conclusion of the ongoing investigation. The Commission ,further stressed that no one is above the law and promised that due process will be followed in bringing the case to a conclusion.”
There has been no official response from the Nigeria Air Force Authority.
