The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has freed one serving Nigerian Army commander and seven Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel accused of Internet-related fraud.
The accused were apprehended by the anti-graft agency’s Kaduna State zonal office on Monday and held in the commission’s custody for further investigation and possible prosecution.
However, the situation took a dramatic turn on Friday morning when armed NAF soldiers stormed the EFCC office at Number 4, Wurno Road in the state capital to force the release of their comrades.
The soldiers, who arrived at the EFCC office in five Hilux patrol vans around 10 am, surrounded the main gate of the commission, preventing the EFCC officials from entering or leaving the office.
The incident culminated in a showdown between the Air Force personnel and EFCC security operatives, who engaged in a shouting match and threatened to pull the trigger on each other.
The situation was later brought under control with the EFCC zonal head and the leader of the air force team meeting briefly, leading to the release of the suspects.
Reacting to the incident, the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, told Channels Television on a phone call that the commission decided to release the suspects upon completing its investigation and forensic profiling.
Oyewale explained that the release and handover of the suspects to their agencies was not done in line with the commission’s standard operating procedure, adding that the suspects would still be arraigned in court at the appropriate time, despite being released to their agency.