EFCC explains arrest of journalists at Enugu radio station
By Uzair Adam
On Monday, October 14, 2024, a team of officers from the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) visited Urban Radio 94.5FM, Enugu, to invite Favour Ekoh, the host of the station’s program Prime Time, for questioning.
Ekoh is under investigation for her alleged involvement in a N700 million Ponzi scheme that affected about 50 victims.
The victims claimed Ekoh enticed them to invest in “Life Trading,” a scheme run by Leverage Index Limited, where they were promised 10 percent returns on their capital after a set period.
However, after they invested, the company, located at No. 1 Colliery Street, Okpara Avenue, Enugu, shut down, leaving them without their capital or any promised returns.
The victims said Ekoh was their primary point of contact for the scheme.
Upon arriving at the radio station with an arrest warrant, EFCC officers identified themselves to the station’s Managing Director, Bamikole Owoyomi.
However, in an unexpected move, a staff member called the station’s Chairman, who ordered the gates to be locked, trapping the EFCC officers inside the building.
The officers then called for backup, which led to the arrest of Owoyomi, Ekoh, and two security guards for obstructing the EFCC’s duties.
Ekoh, who was trailed to the station as part of a sting operation to prevent her from evading arrest, was allowed to make a statement at the EFCC’s Enugu office and has since been released.
Owoyomi and the guards, who were initially detained for preventing the officers from carrying out their duties, also made statements and were later released.
In a statement, Dele Oyewale, Head of Media & Publicity for the EFCC, emphasized that the commission holds the media in high regard but criticized the actions of the station’s staff as unlawful and obstructive.
He called on the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to examine the station’s conduct and Ekoh’s professional ethics, given her involvement in the fraudulent scheme.
The EFCC clarified that no equipment at the station was damaged and that there was no disruption to the station’s lawful operations during the arrest.