…building under investigation — EFCC
The Management of Goodwill School, Ikorodu, Lagos, has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of forcefully invading their school premises and assaulting some teachers and students in a bid to enforce a court order.
The Acting Vice Principal of the school, Mr. Olalekan Adewale, made this disclosure while addressing newsmen, saying that EFCC officers last Thursday stormed the school classrooms and informed the teachers and pupils that they had taken over the school through a final forfeiture order obtained in January 2025 via an ex parte motion, without prior notification to the other party.
Adewale recounted how the sight of armed officers left students terrified, saying that one pupil was so traumatized that she began vomiting.
This was just as he recalled that the EFCC officers even threatened to arrest him but had to change their minds when the teachers and pupils insisted they would accompany me to their office in Lagos Island.
He said everyone became embarrassed, noting that it was a traumatic experience for both the teachers and students alike “all because we refused to accept the letter they brought from their office.”
“The EFCC officers even threatened to arrest me but changed their minds when the teachers and pupils insisted they would accompany me to their office in Lagos Island. We were all embarrassed as they harassed everyone simply because we refused to accept the letter they brought from their office. It was a traumatic experience for both teachers and students alike,” he said.
The VP, who was also the mathematics teacher, claimed he nearly fainted when the officials pointed guns at him and wanted to force him to sign a document that he knew nothing about.
Speaking further, the Acting vice principal, Mr. Adewale, said that the Anti-graft agency officers later returned on Friday, February 28, 2025 and ordered all students and staff members to vacate the premises.
According to him, their action left the children in shock which they had never experienced before, and almost like a war situation, saying that he had to beg them not to approach the primary section, as there were young children there.
“On Friday, the children were gathered for morning devotion when gun-wielding EFCC officials arrived and ordered everyone to leave the school grounds, leaving their belongings behind.
“The children were in shock—they had never experienced anything like this before. It felt like a war situation. I had to beg them not to approach the primary section, as there were young children there. The chaos lasted over three hours,” he said.
Also speaking, the proprietor of Goodwill School, Mr. Omoniyi Enikuomehin, accused the Anti-graft agency officials of forcibly evicting students and staff from the school premises and attempting to detain the Vice Principal.
According to Enikuomehin, the EFCC met with the school vice principal, Mr. Olalekan, and asked him to sign a letter, but refused to do so, stating that he had no instructions from the management concerning such.
“I wasn’t around when the EFCC officials came, but I was informed that two of them were armed. They entered the school compound and told students that the school now belonged to the EFCC.
“They met with the Vice Principal, Mr. Olalekan, and asked him to sign a letter. He declined, stating that he had no instructions from the management to do so. The officers then threatened to arrest him, but the teachers and students refused to let him go alone,” the school proprietor said.
The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyawale, in his reaction, dismissed the claim that the commission stormed the school, insisting that the management knew the property was under investigation.
According to him, the Anti-graft agency officers never stormed the school premises, maintaining that the operation was routine and part of an ongoing investigation into the school and to ensure that the property was not tampered with.
“We do not storm locations; we conduct our operations lawfully. The Goodwill School case is under investigation, and the matter is in court. The court granted final forfeiture of the property to the commission, following legal procedures.
“The property in question is under investigation. When a property is under investigation, we don’t need to inform anyone before our operatives visit. Our officers were only there to ensure the property was not tampered with. This was not an invasion, it was a routine visit,” he said.
“The argument that people were chased out does not stand because they were not supposed to be on the premises at all,” he added.
This was just as he justified the presence of armed officers within the school premises on the occasion, saying that there was need for the officers to be prepared as resistance could occur anytime.
“When you’re going for any law enforcement operation, you have to be armed. Resistance can occur anytime, and our officers must be prepared,” the EFCC spokesperson said.
READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then