President of the Creative Industry Group, Felix Duke, has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of alleged invasion of his hotel — Duke and Duchess Hotel in Abule Egba, Lagos State.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, Duke said the incident, which occurred on Aug. 1, disrupted operations, damaged property worth millions of naira.
Duke also alleged the theft of money from his room during the said invasion.
He alleged that the raid was linked to a fraud accusation against him by a retired soldier with whom he was involved in a land dispute.
“Officials of the EFCC, numbering eight, on Friday, Aug. 1 stormed Duke and Duchess Hotel in an unmarked bus without presenting a valid warrant.
“The EFCC operatives arrived armed and without any legal documentation. They attempted to arrest my wife, Lady Capriz, while I was away.
“Fortunately, she is an American citizen and refused to go with them unless they produced a valid court warrant, which they could not provide,” he said.
He alleged that the commission’s operatives blocked the hotel entrance, chased away customers, and forcibly broke into rooms, claiming they were searching for him.
“I later discovered that they carted away 5,000 (euros) that was kept in my room,” he said.
Duke described the action as an act of intimidation, accusing the EFCC of using the retired soldier’s petition as a cover to harass him.
According to him, the matter stems from a land dispute, and he (Duke) had previously filed a petition against the retired soldier, who he believed was using the anti-graft agency to retaliate.
While demanding an unreserved apology from the agency, Duke threatened legal action against both the retired soldier and the EFCC.
NAN was unable to obtain the EFCC’s reaction, as calls to its Zonal Lagos office hotline — 09158993509 — were either switched off or unreachable.
But the agency’s Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, in a telephone interview, denied the claim, saying there was no such operation carried out by the commission as alleged.
”There was no such operation carried out by our operatives, please,” Oyewale said (NAN)
