58 of the 69 students of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, who were previously detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have been released, according to Abiodun Olarewaju, the university’s public relations officer.
The students were released following a meeting between the institution’s management and the EFCC in Ibadan, according to Olarewaju, who also disclosed that the remaining 11 had cases to answer with the anti-graft agency.
Olarewaju, a spokesman for the university, told DAILY POST that the EFCC would be meeting with the administration of the school.
He, however, maintained that the university would not stop the anti-graft agency from doing its job
“58 of the students were released to us. The remaining 11 of them have cases to answer.”
It had reported that the anti-gravity agency, in a midnight raid, stormed hostels outside the OAU campus, including Fine Touch and Superb hostels in the Oduduwa Estate, Ile-Ife, broke into rooms, and arrested some students.
It was gathered that the arrested students were taken to the EFCC Zonal office, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The EFCC, in a statement on its verified Facebook page hours later, confirmed that it arrested 69 suspects in Ile-Ife. The anti-graft agency listed the names of the suspects but was silent on their identities as students.
“They were arrested on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at the Oduduwa Estate area of Ile-Ife, Osun State, following actionable intelligence on their suspected involvement in fraudulent Internet-related activities. Credible intelligence linked Oduduwa Estate with the activities of suspected internet fraudsters,” the statement said.