The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reacted to the editorial of Thisday Newspaper of August 23, 2016 titled: “The Death of Citizen Nunugwo.”
This was contained in statement on Tuesday by the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren.
It said: “The attempt by Thisday to call attention to the unfortunate incident of the sudden death of Nunugwo, a fraud suspect of the EFCC in the said editorial appears salutary, on the surface, as the public deserves to be properly informed on the circumstances leading to his death.
“The EFCC appreciates this fact, and has never shied away from sharing information regarding the sad occurrence with the public.
“The need for openness in the handling of the issue partly informed the decision of the Commission to announce the death and provided vivid account of the chain of events before and after his demise in a press statement on June 10, 2016 by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren
“The EFCC has come clean on this matter and will welcome investigation by any agency as it has nothing to hide.
“However, the agency is worried by the attempt by sections of the media to latch on the Nunugwo matter to settle some unstated scores with the EFCC. The attempt by Thisday to project the EFCC as an agency with scant regard for the sanctity of human lives is suspect. According to the newspaper, ‘Just recently, two suspects reportedly died in EFCC custody and up till today, there is no information about the cause of their death (sic)’.
“This is blatant falsehood, scaremongering and a devious invention by Thisday. The motive is to tar the EFCC as a lawless agency.
“The EFCC would like to state that contrary to the information in the editorial, there are no mysterious “two suspects” who have died in the custody of the EFCC.
“The Commission is challenging Thisdaynewspaper to name the two suspects they say died in the EFCC custody, for which information on the causes of deaths have not been provided.
“Where it is unable to do so, Thisday must tender an unreserved apology to the EFCC, failing which the Commission would have no other option than to explore all available means to recover its professional integrity and sterling image in the comity of law enforcement agencies, where the EFCC is indeed held in very high esteem.”
