A tense standoff ensued between the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday morning when some NAF personnel stormed the EFCC office in Kaduna State over the arrest of some suspected internet fraudsters, who were also serving military personnel.
According to eyewitnesses, NAF personnel arrived at the EFCC office located at Number 4, Wurno Road in Kaduna, around 10 a.m. in three Hilux patrol vans and blocked the main gate of the anti-graft agency, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the premises.
The situation escalated when the Air Force soldiers and the policemen attached to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission engaged in a verbal altercation, with both sides pointing their guns at each other, creating a scene that resembled a combat scenario.
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The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the incident in a phone call with Channels TV. He said that the suspects, who included an officer of the Nigerian Army and six NAF personnel, were arrested on Monday for internet-related fraud and were in the custody of the commission, pending the completion of its investigation and prosecution.
He added that the EFCC was a statutory Federal Government law enforcement agency that had the mandate to fight corruption and could not be intimidated or coerced by any sister agency while carrying out its official duty.