The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), said it arrested 14 undergraduates of the Federal University of Technology, Akure(FUTA), Ondo State over alleged internet fraud.
Its Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him, they were arrested alongside 19 others in the early hours of Wednesday, over suspected internet crimes.
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“The suspects were arrested at different residential locations within Akure metropolis following intelligence on their alleged nefarious activities.
“Specifically, the sting operation that yielded their arrest was a response to strident calls to the EFCC by neighbours and parents around the locations, to save their children from being lured into internet-related activities by the suspects.
“Items recovered at the point of arrest include ten exotic cars, phones, laptops and one motor bike.
“The suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” he said.
Meanwhile the management of the university has frowned at the invasion of some student off-campus hostels by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In a statement by the university’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, on Wednesday, the institution confirmed the development and expressed its displeasure over the invasion by the agency.
“The attention of the Federal University of Technology Akure, has been drawn to an incident involving some operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who raided some private hostels in the Orita Obele area of Akure metropolis where some students of the university reside.
“Contrary to some false reports making the round, the operatives of the EFCC did not invade FUTA and there was no operation whatsoever within the hostels or precincts of the university. The Incident in question happened in private hostels off campus.”
The varsity authorities expressed “strong reservations about the timing and mode of the operation said to have taken place around 2 am on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.”
It said, “Reports indicate that the operatives barged in and violently woke sleeping students and treated them most unfairly in the course of the operation.
“Such patently dangerous tactics should not have been employed by the operatives. The process should always follow due process without causing harm or injuries to anybody physically or psychologically. Indeed but for providence something untoward could have happened in the course of the operation carried out in the off-campus hostels.”
The university, in the statement, said it was in touch with the EFCC to ascertain the identity of those arrested and validate their studentship and also to ensure that innocent FUTA students are not punished for offences they have not committed.
However, the university noted that it abhorred all forms of anti-social practices including acts of criminality in all its forms and would support all initiatives to bring perpetrators to face the consequences of their actions within the ambits of the law.
