The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed claims that the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was the target of its recent operation in which 93 suspected internet fraudsters were arrested.
The management of the OOPL had on Wednesday demanded N3.5 billion in compensation and a public apology from the EFCC, describing the operation as an invasion of private property and an infringement of its rights as a corporate entity.
The library also called it “a stark and blatant violation of the rights of the people who gathered for the event.”
Responding in a statement on Thursday, EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, clarified that the arrests were made at a hotel located within the precincts of the OOPL, not in the library itself.
Oyewale explained that intelligence indicated the suspects were holding a pool party to celebrate alleged illicit activities.
According to him, “The party was initially planned to hold in two different locations but was shifted to the hotel in OOPL ostensibly to escape possible arrest by operatives of the EFCC.”
He added that profiling had linked almost all the suspects to offences bordering on impersonation, identity theft and internet fraud.
“Sequel to the arrest of 93 suspected internet fraudsters at a hotel within the precincts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the EFCC will, on Friday, August 15, 2025, arraign 23 out of the suspects before Justice D. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The former President’s facility was not a target of the EFCC’s operations. The suspects were the target and have confessed their involvement in internet crimes,” Oyewale said.
The EFCC spokesman added that the arraignment of the remaining suspects will follow in batches after Friday’s court session.
