A 19-year-old Nursing Science student at Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Oluwateniola Omidiji, finds herself in a predicament after being arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 26, 2024.
The arrest stems from an alleged debt owed by her mother, Mrs. Omoniyi Omidiji, to a business partner.
According to reports, Oluwateniola was taken into custody from the school premises by EFCC operatives, disrupting her academic commitments, including crucial exams.
The arrest revolves around a business transaction involving her widowed mother dating back to 2020.
In a legal move, Oluwateniola has filed a fundamental rights suit, marked FHC/L/CS/759/224, at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
She alleges being held hostage by EFCC operatives over a debt claimed by Mr. Charles Nwoko, pertaining to her mother’s business dealings.
Nwoko asserts that he invested a substantial sum, N100,000,000, into Mrs. Omidiji’s business, in which Oluwateniola is named as a partner.
The EFCC’s investigation, conducted at the Corporate Affairs Commission, purportedly links Mrs. Omidiji to a company called Elisto Global Services Limited, through which the funds were received.
Meanwhile, Oluwateniola, confined in an EFCC facility, voices her distress to the court, emphasising her absence during critical school examinations.
Court documents reveal the EFCC’s stance, indicating Oluwateniola’s association as a director of Elisto implicates her in her mother’s alleged financial misstep. However, Oluwateniola’s legal representative, Chijioke Emeka, SAN, contends that she was a minor at the time of the business agreement and seeks to protect her fundamental rights.
Emeka pursues justice for Oluwateniola, demanding N10,000,000 in damages, citing violations of her rights to human dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and freedom of movement.
Efforts to obtain comments from EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, remain unsuccessful, while the schedule for further court proceedings remains undetermined.
