Human rights lawyer Marshal Abubakar has called for an independent investigation into the controversial death of 16-year-old Atsar Sesugh in Makurdi, Benue State, while urging sweeping reforms of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, Mr Abubakar said the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death and the conflicting accounts that have emerged from the EFCC, police authorities, eyewitnesses and the victim’s family underscore the need for an impartial inquiry.
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“We demand an immediate and dispassionate investigation by an independent institution into the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate murder of Master Atsar Sesugh by officials of the EFCC,” the lawyer said.
“The brutal murder of a 16-year-old and labelling such a child a cultist is grossly suspicious and most unacceptable.”
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The lawyer’s intervention comes a day after the EFCC publicly denied allegations that the teenager died in its custody.
In a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency stated that Mr Sesugh was among 26 suspected internet fraud suspects arrested by operatives of its Makurdi Zonal Directorate on 28 April and detained pursuant to a remand order obtained from a magistrate court.
According to the commission, Mr Sesugh and two other suspects escaped from custody on 4 May after allegedly requesting permission to use the toilet and breaking through the roof of the facility.
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The EFCC stated that intelligence later indicated that Mr Sesugh was hiding in the Kanshio area of Makurdi, prompting operatives to move in to rearrest him.
It claimed that Mr Sesugh and suspected cult members opened fire on its team, forcing operatives to respond in self-defence.
The agency explained that the suspects fled during the exchange, while Mr Sesugh was later found lying in a pool of blood by the roadside and taken to the Police Cottage Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
The commission maintained that the teenager neither died in its custody nor had he been granted bail at any time before the incident.
The Benue State Police Command gave a similar account, saying EFCC operatives encountered armed youths suspected to be cultists while attempting to re-arrest fleeing suspects and later found Sesugh wounded after the exchange of gunfire.
The Commissioner of Police subsequently directed the State Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Lawyer’s demand echoes conflicting official and family accounts
However, Mr Sesugh’s family and eyewitnesses have strongly disputed the official version.
Mr Abubakar stressed that the deceased’s mother, Jennifer Atsar, accused EFCC operatives of killing her son after allegedly demanding N100,000 before returning a mobile phone seized during his arrest.
According to the lawyer, the EFCC had allegedly arrested the teenager and released him on bail. At the same time, his phone was retained with instructions that it would only be released after payment of the money.
He said the family alleged that after failing to pay, EFCC operatives tracked the teenager to another location in Makurdi and shot him at close range.
The account mirrors earlier claims by Mrs Atsar, who said her son, a Junior Secondary School three student and apprentice furniture maker, left home on 23 May after receiving a telephone call and accompanied a friend to a hotel where two men she identified as EFCC operatives in plain clothes were allegedly waiting.
She claimed that one of the officers suddenly produced a firearm, causing her son to flee before he was allegedly chased and shot.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES also challenged the official narrative.
According to residents, EFCC operatives traced the teenager and another suspect to the Gberindyer settlement area of Makurdi.
One witness alleged that Mr Sesugh attempted to run when he saw the operatives but was shot in the leg before another shot was fired into his chest after he fell to the ground.
Another resident claimed that angry community members prevented the operatives from leaving until they took responsibility for the teenager’s body.
The conflicting narratives surrounding the incident have strengthened calls for an independent investigation capable of establishing exactly what transpired.
Mr Abubakar stressed that such an inquiry would be necessary not only to determine responsibility for the teenager’s death but also to restore public confidence in law enforcement institutions.
Beyond the circumstances of Mr Sesugh’s death, the lawyer criticised what he described as longstanding practices within the EFCC that require urgent reform.
Drawing from years of legal practice, he alleged that the commission routinely imposes onerous bail conditions by requiring suspects to produce senior civil servants or directors as sureties and deposit original title documents for landed properties.
He argued that Nigerian courts have repeatedly condemned such conditions as inconsistent with the constitutional presumption of innocence and as practices capable of encouraging corruption among public servants.
Mr Abubakar also criticised what he described as the increasing use of ex parte detention orders to keep suspects in custody for weeks or months while pressuring them to make refunds, including in disputes arising from civil transactions.
According to him, the practice effectively turns the anti-graft agency into a debt recovery institution, contrary to established legal principles.
“The Commission must look inwards and embark on urgent reforms. The Commission cannot be a law unto itself. The Commission was set up by law and it cannot pretend to be above the Constitution,” he said.
The lawyer further argued that an independent panel should investigate the killing to ensure justice for the deceased’s family and establish the true circumstances surrounding the incident.
The controversy is also not the first time questions have arisen over deaths linked to suspects in law enforcement custody.
READ ALSO: EFCC speaks on controversial death of cybercrime suspect
In 2016, the EFCC announced that a fraud suspect, Desmond Nunugwo, died after developing a medical emergency while in detention, insisting that the incident was reported to the police for investigation.
Although, the facts of that case differ from the Makurdi incident, rights advocates say the recurrence of disputed deaths involving suspects underscores the need for greater transparency, accountability and independent oversight of security agencies.
For Mr Abubakar, the death of Mr Sesugh presents an opportunity for broader institutional reforms.
He said only an independent investigation and adherence to constitutional safeguards would help restore public confidence in the EFCC and ensure that the agency’s fight against financial crimes is conducted within the bounds of the law.
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