The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign 23 suspected internet fraudsters on Friday, August 15, 2025, before Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The suspects were among 93 individuals arrested during a sting operation at a hotel within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) complex in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to a statement by the EFCC’s head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale, in their profiling, almost all the suspects arrested have been indicted for alleged offences bordering on impersonation, identity, and internet fraud.
The arraignment of the suspects, scheduled in batches, is coming on the heels of their arrest at a pool party where they were celebrating.
The EFCC said its intelligence report gathered that the party was initially planned to hold in two locations, but was shifted to the hotel in OOPL to escape possible arrest by operatives of the commission.
The agency said the planners got wind of the commission’s intelligence and scampered to the OOPL, expecting a sort of covering from arrest.
The EFCC said it carried the operation based on credible intelligence linking the individuals to offenses including impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud.
The suspects were reportedly celebrating their alleged illicit activities at a pool party when they were apprehended.
The event was initially planned to hold in two separate locations but was shifted to the OOPL hotel in a bid to evade EFCC operatives ¹.
Meanwhile,The EFCC clarified that the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library itself was not the target of the operation, but rather the suspects who were arrested..
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, said that “the former president’s facility was not a target of EFCC’s operations.
”The suspects were the targets and have confessed to their involvement in internet crimes.” The EFCC plans to arraign the suspects in batches, with the remaining suspects expected to face charges shortly.
The OOPL management has demanded N3.5 billion in compensation and a public apology from the EFCC, describing the operation as an invasion of private property and an infringement on the library’s rights.
However, the EFCC maintained that its actions were targeted at combating cybercrime and protecting the public.
