The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied reports that a suspected cybercrime suspect, Asar Sesugh, died in its custody, insisting that he was killed during an exchange of gunfire with operatives weeks after escaping from detention in Makurdi, Benue State.
In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency said Mr Sesugh was among 26 suspected internet fraudsters arrested by operatives of its Makurdi Zonal Directorate on 28 April.
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The commission said the suspects were profiled and detained for further investigation after obtaining a remand order from a magistrate court.
According to the EFCC, three of the suspects sought permission to use the toilet on 4 May but allegedly took advantage of the opportunity to escape by breaking through the roof of the facility.
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It said several efforts to rearrest them proved unsuccessful.
The commission stated that it later received intelligence on 21 May that Mr Sesugh was hiding in the Kanshio area of Makurdi and dispatched operatives to the location.
“Upon sighting the team, Sesugh and his suspected cult members opened fire on them. Operatives of the Commission returned fire in self-defence,” the statement stated.
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The EFCC explained that the suspects fled during the exchange, but Mr Sesugh was later found lying in a pool of blood by the roadside.
It noted that he was immediately taken to the Police Cottage Hospital at the Benue State Police Headquarters in Makurdi, where he was confirmed dead.
According to the commission, the incident was reported to the Benue State Police Command, which has commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death while efforts continue to apprehend the remaining fleeing suspects.
The EFCC maintained that Mr Sesugh neither died while in detention nor was he on bail before the incident.
“The dead suspect did not die in custody and was not on bail at any time,” the commission said.
The statement appears to be a response to growing public scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death, following claims by his family that contradicted the official account.
Family’s different narrative
Earlier on Saturday, the deceased’s mother, Jennifer Atsar, alleged in an interview with Punch newspaper that her son had been arrested by EFCC operatives, released on bail and asked to pay N100,000 to retrieve his phone.
She claimed that on 23 May, the 16-year-old Junior Secondary School 3 student and apprentice furniture maker left home after receiving a telephone call and accompanied a friend to a hotel where two EFCC operatives in plain clothes were allegedly staying.
According to her, one of the officers drew a firearm shortly after they arrived, prompting her son to flee before he was allegedly chased and shot at close range.
Mrs Atsar rejected allegations linking her son to internet fraud, cultism or drug-related activities, describing him as a hardworking teenager who supported himself through apprenticeship and menial jobs. She also called for an independent investigation into the incident and demanded the release of his body to the family.
Police’s account
The family’s account differs from the version earlier released by the Benue State Police Command.
In a statement on 25 May, police spokesperson Udeme Edet stated that Mr Sesugh was among three suspects, alongside James Onuh and Solomon Aondoakura Orhena, who allegedly escaped from lawful custody at EFCC’s Makurdi facility on 4 May after being arrested over alleged fraud and cybercrime offences.
The police said EFCC operatives, acting on intelligence, stormed a hideout behind the Mechanic Village in the Kanshio area of Makurdi, where they encountered suspected cultists who allegedly opened fire on them, resulting in a gun battle.
According to the police, the fleeing suspects escaped during the exchange, while operatives later found Mr Sesugh lying in a pool of blood by the roadside and rushed him to the Police Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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The command added that his body was deposited at the mortuary of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital for preservation and autopsy, while the Commissioner of Police directed the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and intensify efforts to apprehend the remaining escapees.
Recurring incidents
The latest controversy is not the first time the EFCC has had to explain the death of a suspect linked to its custody.
In June 2016, the commission announced the death of Desmond Nunugwo, a fraud suspect arrested in Abuja over an alleged N91 million scam.
The EFCC said he developed a medical emergency about six hours after he was detained and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The commission stressed that it reported the incident to the police for investigation and maintained that the suspect had suddenly taken ill after his statement was recorded.
Although the circumstances surrounding that case differ from the current incident in Makurdi, the latest statement underscores the EFCC’s effort to rebut claims that Mr Sesugh died while in its custody, insisting instead that he died during an exchange of gunfire after escaping from detention while operatives attempted to rearrest him.
While expressing condolences to the deceased’s family, the commission said it would not condone attacks on its operatives or breaches of security within its detention facilities.
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