Mrs. Uloma Nwosu, daughter of former governor of Imo State and APC presidential hopeful, Rochas Okorocha has narrated how the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), forced their way into their residence located at 3 Nyasa Close, off Ontario Crescent, off Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja.
According to Uloma, the operatives of the commission broke into their residential building through the roof. She claimed that they also broke the bulletproof door of the house, using a big log of wood.
The New Diplomat had reported that EFCC besieged Okorocha’s house at Maitama, Abuja. After hours of the seige and resistance, the operatives of the commission broke into the house and forcefully arrested him.
Reacting to the development while speaking during an interview with Arise TV, monitored by The New Diplomat, Uloma said the EFCC broke into their residence without any court order or search warrant.
According to her, the commission prior to the event on Tuesday had failed to invite her father for questioning.
In her words, “Once they came in, we had asked what the problem was, who they were, because there was no way to identify them. And they said that they were from the EFCC, and that they had come to invite His Excellency, to the EFCC quarters. We, of course further asked if they had any letter of invitation, any warrant of arrest, and search warrant or any document at all to show why they were here.
“And they said that no, they didn’t have anything of that such. It was just an invitation, and that they promised it wasn’t going to take too long. And of course, looking at that scenario, coming with a lot of these men the way that they forcefully came into the compound, we then called for our lawyer Olanipekun to come to the residents. As soon as he got there, he reached out to them, asking them why they have come to His Excellency’s residence and what the problem was, they repeated the same thing that it wasn’t a problem that they had just come to invite His Excellency, that some of the top operatives of the EFCC just wanted to have a talk with His Excellency.
“And then he asked, but had they initially called His Excellency, they said no. He further asked if they had any such words, any paperwork? They said no. I was in the living room at the point when the lawyer informed his excellency about the situation. So, he said, okay, I don’t have a problem with that. However, I am preparing for a screening today, can they let me go for the screening, as soon as I come back, I will honour their invitation. And of course, they refused. And, in fact, told the SAN that they had been instructed to bring him at all cost to the headquarters. And looking at the whole scenario, it became questionable.
“They gave an ultimatum of One hour, twenty minutes, that if his excellency did not follow to really come into their vehicle to leave, that they were going to forcefully come into the house. And of course, at this point, we thought it was remotely impossible to do that, because in a civil society, for you to barge into any residents, you must have a search warrant or any document. And at this time, note that we had a lot of media representatives who were there, from Arise news, AIT, Channels and they did ask them at that point for any documentation.”
