EFCC Personnel Are Detained For Murdering A Colleague Due To Items Recovered From Suspect

A suspect in detention's valuables and property led to the arrest of two Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers for the murder of the suspect.

The staff members were employed by the Commission's Sokoto Zonal Command, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Inspector Abel Isah Dickson was allegedly severely injured by the suspected officers, Assistant Superintendent Apata Oluwaseun Odunayo and Inspector Ogbuji Titu Tochukwu, who then allegedly planned to kill his colleague on May 7. Dickson later passed away in the hospital.

The development was revealed to press on Tuesday by the EFCC's executive chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

He said that a two-count culpable homicide accusation has been brought against the pair.

On Saturday, May 13, 2023, in Jos, Plateau State, the deceased officer was laid to rest.

Says Bawa: "The officer passed away on May 7, 2023, at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto where he was receiving treatment for injuries he sustained, two days earlier, in a scuffle with two other staff: Assistant Superintendent of EFCC, Apata Oluwaseun Odunayo and Inspector of EFCC, Ogbuji Titu Tochukwu.

"They had disagreed over procedures for the custody of items belonging to a suspect in detention, leading to a fight, a conduct which the Commission frowns at.

"The two officers with whom he had a disagreement have been suspended by the Commission and handed over to the Nigeria Police for further investigation and possible prosecution."

Bawa reported that the most recent information indicated that a two-count case against them before a Chief Magistrate Court, Gwiwa in Sokoto, bordering on criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide had been filed.

According to Sections 60 and 191 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Low, 2019, he explained, both offenses carry penalties.

Unaffected by the police inquiry, Bawa continued, they will also endure additional disciplinary actions in accordance with the Commission's personnel regulations.