By Ikenna Orioha
The Coordinator of Home Boy Movement, Comrade Bishop Godson Okereke, has strongly condemned the unwarranted arrests and detentions of innocent youths of Imo State by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who languish in its Awka custody.
Okereke said that it was unprofessional and uncalled for, for the EFCC to invade buildings and arrest every occupant and tagged them Yahoo Yahoo boys or swindlers with the ulterior motif of extortion and bullying.
This condemnation of the alleged inhuman acts of the EFCC is contained in a release signed by the Coordinator of Home Boy Movement, Comrade Bishop Godson Okereke, which he made available to journalists in Owerri on Sunday.
The Coordinator appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma, the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Police Command and other relevant stakeholders to wade in and compel the EFCC to immediately release the detained and dying innocent youths so that they reunite with their families.
“The Home Boy Movement rises today with a heavy heart and a troubled conscience to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the reckless, unprofessional and inhuman manner in which operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had continued to arrest, detain and extort innocent youths in Imo State.
“Imo youths are dying in their numbers in the EFCC facility in Awka, Anambra State. What was recently captured in a viral video, which looked more like a drama series, showed men dressed in EFCC uniforms parading houses in Owerri, breaking into compounds and whisking away innocent young men under the guise of fighting “Yahoo Yahoo.”
“This has now become a normal, terrifying practice in Imo State and it is totally unacceptable in any sane and civilized society.
“What makes this situation even more dangerous is that kidnnappers have now adopted the same pattern. They dress in similar uniforms, storm homes in the dead of night and abduct their victims to unknown destinations where millions of naira are demanded as ransom. Our youths are therefore caught between two terrors: the fear of real criminals and the fear of those who are supposed to protect them.
“We call on the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, to, as a matter of urgent public importance, look into this heinous crime. Many of our youths are languishing in custody without trial, without charge and without any public scrutiny of what their alleged offences are.
“How can a young man whose bank account has remained empty for three to five years suddenly be branded a Yahoo syndicate kingpin? This is not law enforcement. This is a coordinated criminal enterprise designed to extort parents and friends in the name of “bail.”
“The EFCC must, as a matter of professional duty, conduct its operations with dignity, intelligence and respect for human rights. If in the course of an arrest you accost an innocent citizen, release him immediately and unconditionally, rather than searching desperately for a minor fault to justify extorting his family.
“It is a painful irony that while billions of naira are looted daily from our collective treasury by powerful economic saboteurs, the Commission appears powerless to confront them, yet finds its strength in harassing defenceless youths in Owerri.
“We therefore, passionately appeal to the Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, to intervene urgently and secure freedom for Imo youths detained at the Awka EFCC Unit in Anambra State in particular.
“Under your watch, Sir, Imo youths must not be victimized, extorted and intimidated in the name of the EFCC.
“They should be protected. And where any youth is found guilty, let his trial be open, transparent and subject to public scrutiny. That is how a sane society operates.
“Hundreds of Imo youths are currently detained in that unit. Their poor parents are being forced to take loans and sell landed properties just to secure the release of their children for crimes they know nothing about. How can operatives visit a compound and arrest everyone in sight?
“Does it mean that every occupant of a building is automatically involved in cybercrime? The answer is a resounding NO. To demand millions of naira from them for their freedom is nothing short of criminality and a gross abuse of power.
“We also appeal to the Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Garba Bosso, to urgently investigate this coordinated extortion and facilitate the release of Imo youths held in EFCC custody on the flimsy ground of “arrested in a building” without any tangible or condemnable charge, so that they can be reintegrated with their families.
“Many of them have spent weeks and months in detention while financial negotiations for their release continue behind closed doors.
“This practice is absolutely ridiculous, unpatriotic and unethical. It is a betrayal of the very profession these operatives claim to pride themselves in. Worse still, it is indirectly fuelling the growing resistance that the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is facing within the youth constituency across the nation. No government can win the trust of its youths while its agencies treat them as cash cows.
“We demand justice. We demand accountability. We demand the immediate release of all innocent Imo youths in EFCC custody in Awka.
“Enough is enough. Imo youths are not criminals. Imo youths are not ATMs. Imo youths deserve protection, not persecution”, Okereke maintained.
