Youths and residents of Ondo State embarked on a protest in Akure, the State Capital, on Monday, lamenting the raid by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where 127 people were arrested at two nightclubs.
On Saturday, News About Nigeria reported that the operatives of the Crimes Commission stormed the nightclubs and arrested about 127 youths over alleged internet fraud activities, including a man who was celebrating his bachelor’s eve with his friends in one of the raided nightclubs.
Scores of protesters converged in the capital city, chanting various solidarity songs, and calling on the anti-graft commission to unconditionally release those arrested.
They also called on both the state and federal governments to investigate the actions of the operatives of the Commission, stating that the unlawful holding of citizens in their custody is against the law and a breach of their human rights.
The Ondo State Police Command, however, urged the protesters to air their grievances within the confines of the law and channel their complaints to the appropriate authorities for redress.
The State Police spokesperson, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said this in a statement on Monday.
The statement partly reads, “The command recognises the constitutional rights of citizens to peaceful protest but these rights must be exercised without breach of public order and non-infringement on the rights of other law-abiding citizens.
“Police owe a duty to protect the rights of all citizens and foreign nationals resident within or transiting through the state at all times.
“We appeal to the good people of Ondo state especially the youths who claimed to have been adversely affected by the sting operation to act with restraint and comport themselves within the ambits of the laws of the land.”
The EFCC has, however, assured the public that none of the suspects arrested are being brutalised or dehumanised.
