Metro

EFCC Storms Lagos School; Management Alleges Assault

Published

6 months ago

March 3, 2025

Editor

The management of Goodwill School, Ikorodu, Lagos, has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of invading their school premises and assaulting some teachers and students.

According to the school, on Thursday, February 27, 2025, EFCC officers entered the classrooms and informed the teachers and pupils that the anti-graft agency had taken over the school through a final forfeiture order obtained in January 2025 via an ex parte motion, without prior notification to the other party.

The acting Vice Principal of Goodwill Private Schools, Mr. Olalekan Adewale, recounted how the sight of armed officers left students terrified. He described how one pupil was so traumatized that she began vomiting.

He said: “The EFCC officers even threatened to arrest me but changed their minds when the teachers and pupils insisted they would accompany me to their office in Lagos Island. We were all embarrassed as they harassed everyone simply because we refused to accept the letter they brought from their office. It was a traumatic experience for both teachers and students alike.”

The proprietor of Goodwill School, Mr. Omoniyi Enikuomehin, accused EFCC officials of forcibly evicting students and staff from the premises and attempting to detain the Vice Principal.

”I wasn’t around when the EFCC officials came, but I was informed that two of them were armed. They entered the school compound and told students that the school now belonged to the EFCC.

“They met with the Vice Principal, Mr. Olalekan, and asked him to sign a letter. He declined, stating that he had no instructions from the management to do so. The officers then threatened to arrest him, but the teachers and students refused to let him go alone.”

EFCC Denies Assault Allegations

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson Mr. Dele Oyewale denied claims that officers assaulted anyone at the school.

“We do not storm locations; we conduct our operations lawfully. The Goodwill School case is under investigation, and the matter is in court. The court granted final forfeiture of the property to the commission, following legal procedures.

“The court had initially issued an interim injunction, directing the commission to publish a notice in two national newspapers for any interested party to contest the forfeiture. This was done within 14 days before we obtained the final forfeiture order.

Once a property is forfeited to the government, no business can be conducted there. Our officers simply informed the school that the property was under litigation and had been forfeited. They did not arrest or assault anyone. The rightful owner of the property was aware of the legal processes.”

Documents reviewed by Vanguard indicate that the EFCC’s action stems from a contractual dispute between a first-generation bank and Mrs. Olabisi Victoria Olaiya.

A petition by the law firm Ronke Adekoya & Co., on behalf of Mrs. Olaiya, accused the bank of failing to uphold a contractual agreement regarding a mortgaged property.

Part of Goodwill School was reportedly used as collateral for a loan. When the property owner sought to sell it to repay the debt, the bank allegedly bypassed due process by selling it to Mrs. Olaiya without advertising for competitive bidding.

When the original owner objected, the bank halted the transfer of title documents to Mrs. Olaiya. She then petitioned the EFCC to recover her money. In response, the EFCC secured an ex parte order for both interim and final forfeiture of the property.

The proprietor of Goodwill School has since notified the court that he was not given prior notice before the forfeiture order was issued. The court subsequently ruled for a status quo to be maintained. However, the EFCC proceeded with its enforcement, leading to the confrontation at the school.

Metro

Gateman Arrested For Allegedly Defiling Four-year-old Pupil In Oyo

Published

5 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

A 26-year-old gateman identified as Josiah Ayomide has been arrested for allegedly defiling a four-year-old pupil in one of the schools in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The suspect was paraded alongside other suspects arrested for offences ranging from theft, banditry, rape, and other crimes at the Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Thursday.

In his briefing, the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adewale Osifeso, said the suspect was nabbed after the victim complained of severe vaginal pains to her parents at home.

Osifeso added that after a thorough investigation and probe, the suspect confessed to the crime.

The police spokesman said the victim later told her mother that her school gateman had unlawfully raped her while she was in the school.

According to the report, “The victim was taken to the Police Medical Clinic, Eleyele-Ibadan, for medical examination and treatment, and the medical report revealed that the hymen was not intact, with tenderness around the vulva and vagina and bruises.”

Osifeso said the suspect would be prosecuted upon completion of the investigation.

Metro

Panic As Fire Guts Fuel Station In Ikorodu

Published

7 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

Photo: File Copy

There was pandemonium on Friday when fire gutted A1 Petroleum Filling Station, an independent oil dealer located on Isawo Road, off Agric Bus Stop in Ikorodu, Lagos.

As of 1 p.m., the extent of property destroyed and possible casualties had not been confirmed. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Men of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, supported by other emergency responders, were at the scene battling to contain the inferno, which reportedly began from a diesel-laden truck within the premises.

Metro

DSS Charges Top Ansaru Leaders Over Terrorism, Kuje Prison Break Roles

Published

7 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Services (DSS) has brought terrorism charges against two senior commanders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-linked terror group, over their alleged role in violent attacks across Nigeria.

The suspects are Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar, who is described as the Emir of Ansaru, and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri, also called Malam Mamuda. They were recently captured during security operations.

According to the DSS, the charges against them include leading a terrorist organisation, funding its activities, recruiting members, and planning violent operations nationwide.

Their arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja is expected soon.

Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), said the two men were behind the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, where more than 600 inmates, including Boko Haram suspects, escaped.

Ribadu explained: “Abu Bara was the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism.”

On Mamuda, Ribadu revealed that he trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadists from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in handling weapons and making explosive devices.

The NSA also linked the suspects to the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and the kidnapping of the Emir of Wawa.

Ribadu described their arrest as “a turning point”, noting that the duo maintained strong networks in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.