Edo hoteliers accuse EFCC of suffocating businesses with mass arrests

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The Business and Hoteliers Stakeholders Forum (BHSF) in Edo State on Wednesday decried the downturn in their businesses following what they described as the unwarranted arrest and harassment of their customers by law enforcement agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Benin City, Chairman of the forum, Bishop Omogiade Edokpolo, urged the EFCC to desist from indiscriminate arrests of their customers and lodgers, noting that over 93 young people were recently picked up from various hotels across the state.

He said the whereabouts of the 93 lodgers remain unknown to their families, alleging that they are being held in EFCC custody.

Edokpolo appealed to the EFCC Chairman to urgently address what he described as “unwarranted arrests” in Edo State, stressing that any such operation should be backed by a valid legal warrant.

He further called for the redeployment of the EFCC Zonal Director in Benin, accusing the zonal office of targeting hotels and business premises in Edo State to the detriment of economic activities.

According to him, the EFCC’s actions amount to a calculated attempt to suffocate businesses in the state.

“What we will no longer accept as business owners is EFCC oppression and the depression of businesses in Edo State,” Edokpolo declared. 

"Our biggest fear is not that we do not want them to do their jobs, but that they have successfully created a mentality that discourages people from owning and operating businesses here.”

Responding to the allegations in a telephone interview, EFCC spokesman, Mr. Dele Oyewale, said the BHSF lacked an understanding of the agency’s mandate, which is to investigate and prosecute all forms of economic and financial crimes across the country.

He reiterated that the EFCC’s operations cover cases of corruption, money laundering, and other related offenses.

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