By Eric Elezuo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the early hours of Wednesday, November 1, 2023, invaded two hostels inhabited by students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, arresting over 60 students, many of whom have now been released as innocent.

The raid, according to sources, occurred at the Fine Touch and Superb hostels in Oduduwa Estate, Ile-Ife.

Following the raid, arrest and brutal incidences that took place in-between, one of the affected students, a part five undergraduate of Computer Science and Mathematics in the department of Computer Science and Engineering, Junaid Hafiz Adeyinka, has relapsed to depression, with family sources confirming that the 22-year-old student, whose birthday is today (November 3), has remained incommunicado, reclusive and refusing to speak to anyone as a result of the trauma he underwent in the hands of the anti-graft agency.

In a letter he wrote, expressing his deep thoughts on the issue that occurred on the night, Junaid pleaded that the EFCC should clear his name, as he is not a fraudster nor intends to be, before he could find the peace to move ahead.

Narrating his modest achievements in the short space of time of positively engaging his talents, Junaid said, “I am just a student with several hobbies and skills all technology-related. I am a software engineer, with a diploma in Software engineering and also a technical writer with a blog where I publish content, I also have several work experiences where I have completed internships, some of these companies are EDFIN Microfinance Bank, Lagos, Mark Calthers Consulting Limited and Flosoft. I have undergone several courses on different platforms including AltSchool, Freecode Camp and Udemy and currently undergoing Harvard CS50.”

He further presented a graphic detail of the events that transpired on the night of the raid. See full narration below:

My name is Junaid Hafiz Adeyinka, I’m a part 5 student of Computer Science and Mathematics in the department of Computer Science and Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

In the early hours of Wednesday, November 1st, 2023, I was woken up by several shouts and loud banging noises I immediately thought to be gunshots. I was almost very certain we were being robbed at gunpoint due to the nature of the act and the time it was carried out. I peeped from the slits in my door to try to get any information on what was going on, but I didn’t see much, but that also let me know that they were not near my door at that moment. I cracked the door of my room open a little bit for better visual analysis and saw my fellow tenants lying face down on the ground surrounded by several gunmen. I stepped back into my room, locked the door and started thinking of how to escape the premises. I grabbed my cell phone and texted my family members and friends to let them know that my hostel was being invaded and raided. After that, the only feasible means of escape I could think of was through the roof, so I attempted it. In the process of trying to leave, a pipe burst open and began to leak water heavily into my bedroom, that still didn’t deter me though as I still lunged into the roof, but after being electrocuted by something up there, I decided it was best to stay and avoid dying. At this point, I just layed in my room as the water from the burst pipe continued to flood the room. I remained until the invaders reached my room, after which I was taken out with my cell phone to the courtyard downstairs with other abducted students. It was at this point that I found out it was the EFCC that was carrying out the raid guessing from the jackets they wore. It was a harrowing experience as these gun-wielding men surrounded us as I was asked to lay down with my face against the floor, beating us for several minutes before being escorted into the vehicles holding one another like criminals. We were packed tightly into the bus I was taken away with, with several people having to lap others, myself included. At this point, I had no idea where I was being taken to, or why I was taken away from my home. Shortly after we started to drive off, we were continuously warned and threatened to keep our heads down and not look up. Not too long after, we stopped, and from the look of things, we had stopped at another hostel within the same estate where, at that moment, I could only imagine that the same actions that were carried out in my hostel, were about to be repeated. This was the case, as several other students and young men joined us. As we departed, another threat was issued, this time it was to give a bullet to anyone who tried to run.

I am not a fraudster. I have never been into cyber crime and never will.

I am just a student with several hobbies and skills all technology-related. I am a software engineer, with a diploma in Software engineering and also a technical writer with a blog where I publish content, I also have several work experiences where I have completed internships, some of these companies are EDFIN Microfinance Bank, Lagos, Mark Calthers Consulting Limited and Flosoft. I have undergone several courses on different platforms including AltSchool, Freecode Camp and Udemy and currently undergoing Harvard CS50.

EFCC, please clear my name. Do not destroy my future. I am a clean Nigerian young student with the vision and potentials to be a pride of my family, my country and my world.