EFCC operatives slapped my wife, ‘tear-gassed’ my 4-month-old grandson – Innoson boss

The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Innoson Motors, Innocent Chukwuma, on Wednesday alleged that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) maltreated members of his family when they arrested him last December.
He told members of the Senate committee on anti-corruption that  his wife was slapped while his four-month-old grandson and staff members were tear-gassed by EFCC operatives after forcefully gaining entrance to his house.
Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia-PDP, had on December 20, a day after the arrest, announced at plenary that the operatives of EFCC slapped the wife of Chukwuma.
Confirming this on Thursday, the Innoson boss said the operatives, ”swooped on his house like assassins.”
“I do not know any thug nor do I have any thug let alone inviting or mobilising them to resist my arrest. Rather, given the way EFCC men entered into my residence, I thought they were assassins.
“As a result, I notified some of my friends and staff and they came to find out what was happening. The EFCC operatives that came to arrest me slapped my wife. Of course, she asked them for their warrant of arrest. They also beat up one Chidozie who was living with me to stupor. They used teargas on him for failing to tell them where I was. The EFCC operatives maltreated me as well.”
He added that he and his relatives and staff were maltreated before he was arrested.
“They used tear gas on me, flew me to Lagos in a pair of shorts, ‘snapped’ me with camera, sent the pictures to GTBank. They also injured some of my staff while shooting live bullets and tear gas. The tear gas affected my four-month-old grandson, who was there with his mother.”
In its reaction, the Director, Legal and Prosecution of the EFCC, Chile Okoroma told the panel that the agency has the powers to arrest Chukwuma or any other Nigerian with or without a warrant.
“We can arrest a person with or without a warrant. And the matter for which we have invited him for, the law did not state that we can’t arrest him without a warrant
At the hearing, Okoroma said the EFCC could intervene in a matter if it had detected anything criminal in it.
“We can arrest a person with or without a warrant. I want to correct an impression, EFCC did not invade the residence of Innoson,” he said.
When asked if the EFCC invited Chukwuma before going to his house, Okoroma said yes. But the committee members said he had no proof.
Asked if the operatives went with a warrant, Okoroma said he would get back to the committee.
On his part, Joseph Mbadugha, representative of Chukwuma, argued that the matter between GTB and Innoson had nothing to do with financial crime.
Mbadugha said Chukwuma was not involved in any illegal transaction.
“If you look at the EFCC act, the subject matter between GT bank and Innoson does not fall under financial crimes and EFCC knows that,” he said.
The committee led by Chukwuka Utazi said the senate would not allow the rights of Nigerians to be trampled.
The hearing was then adjourned indefinitely.