Oluwateniola Omidiji, a 19-year-old nursing student at Babcock University, has taken legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for holding her captive.
Seeking justice, Oluwateniola Omidiji has filed a fundamental rights case against the EFCC in the Federal High Court of Lagos, alleging that she was unlawfully seized by the anti-graft agency in connection to an alleged debt owed by her mother to Mr. Charles Nwoko. Omidiji’s case, marked FHC/L/CS/759/224, details how the EFCC personnel reportedly abducted her while she was sitting for an exam, and held her in their custody over the supposed debt.
According to Omidiji’s lawsuit, personnel from the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC allegedly abducted her from the Babcock University campus in the midst of an exam on April 26th, 2024, holding her captive for days, supposedly over this debt.
Oluwateniola Omidiji’s legal counsel, Chijioke Emeka (SAN), brought forward an application on her behalf, claiming that the young student was merely 16 years old when her mother, Mrs. Omidiji, entered into the partnership with Mr. Nwoko. According to the filing, Omidiji had no knowledge of the alleged business deal and, thus, could not have been a party to it. The lawyer further asserts that detaining Omidiji over a debt in which she was not involved constitutes a grave violation of her rights.
Chijioke Emeka (SAN), stated further in the application that the EFCC overstepped its bounds by detaining the student over a crime allegedly committed by her mother. Emeka argued that Omidiji, as an unwitting party to the transaction between her mother and Mr. Nwoko, was unjustly swept up in the dispute, which he contends is a civil matter.
While the Federal High Court of Lagos has yet to set a hearing date for Oluwateniola Omidiji’s case, Justice Yellim Bogoro ruled in her favor, ordering her immediate release. Chijioke Emeka (SAN), Omidiji’s lawyer, filed for enforcement of her fundamental human rights, and Justice Bogoro’s decision ensured her release after spending 11 days in EFCC custody. Despite her detention, the young student’s legal team continues to assert that she was wrongly targeted over a matter in which she was not involved and deserves compensation.