Fourteen students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State have been arrested for suspected internet crimes.
They were arrested alongside 19 others in the early hours of Wednesday, February 14, 2024 by the operatives of the Benin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The suspects were arrested at different residential locations within Akure metropolis following intelligence on their alleged nefarious activities.
Items recovered at the point of arrest include 10 exotic cars, phones, laptops and one motor bike.
EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the sting operation that yielded their arrest was a response to strident calls to the EFCC by neighbours and parents around the locations, to save their children from being lured into internet-related activities by the suspects.
Oyewale said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
Meanwhile, management of FUTA has clarified that the EFCC did not invade its campus.
The institution made the clarification in a statement by its Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Adegbenro Adebanjo.
Adebanjo said that operatives of the commission did not conduct any operations within the precinct of the institution, but in some private students’ hostels in the Orita Obele area of Akure metropolis.
The university’s spokesman, however, expressed strong reservation about the timing and mode of the operation, which was said to have taken place around 2 a.m.
“Reports indicate that the operatives barged in and violently woke sleeping students and treated them most unfairly in the course of the operation.
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“Such patently dangerous tactics should not have been employed by the operatives.
“The process should always follow the due process without causing harm or injuries to anybody physically or psychologically.
“Indeed, but for providence, something untoward could have happened in the course of the operation carried out in the off campus hostels,” he said.
Adebanjo said that the management of the university was in touch with the EFCC to ascertain the identity of those arrested and validate their studentship.
He assured that the institution would ensure that innocent FUTA students were not punished for offences they have not committed.
Adebanjo stated that the university abhorred all forms of anti-social practices including acts of criminality and supported all initiatives to bring perpetrators to book within the ambits of the law.
“The university’s rules and regulations as contained in the Students Code of Conduct as stipulated in the University Handbook and oath of matriculation, which all students are made to sign, specifically prescribe varying degrees of punishment for students who run afoul of the laws governing their studentship or engage in illegal acts or odious behaviour.
“The handbook will guide the university in the current situation,” he stated.
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