Residents allege that EFCC operatives entered their rooms before dawn, touched women without consent and damaged property during a raid in Kwara State. The commission has yet to respond publicly to the specific allegations.
Women living at Agric Estate in Ilorin, Kwara State, have accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of violating their privacy, subjecting them to humiliating treatment and damaging their belongings during an early-morning raid on Wednesday.
The residents alleged that the operatives forced their way into apartments occupied by women, including some who were asleep and naked or inadequately dressed, before profiling occupants as suspected internet fraudsters.
The allegations, reported by SaharaReporters, have raised questions about the treatment of women during law enforcement operations in private homes and the safeguards used to prevent innocent residents from being subjected to unnecessary humiliation.
One resident said the operatives allegedly broke into the apartments despite knowing that women occupied the rooms.
“They damaged all of our properties during the raid. They knocked on the door, and they knew these rooms are for females. They still entered. They burgled their way in and started harassing us,” she told SaharaReporters.
She said the incident left residents feeling that their dignity and personal safety had been disregarded.
“What they were telling us now is that even us young ladies are no longer safe. We all know it is the guys they always go after, but now, these people do not care again. They did not consider our dignity,” she said.
‘Most of Us Sleep Naked’
Another resident described the distress of having officers enter a private room while its occupant was undressed.
“Most of us sleep naked, and these people still entered and started harassing us and profiling us as ‘Yahoo Yahoo,’” she said.
A second woman alleged that officers touched her body while she was naked.
“For me, I was naked. I was not wearing anything, and these EFCC operatives entered and started molesting us in disguise of effecting an arrest. They started touching our bodies,” she told SaharaReporters.
The accounts raise questions about how the operation was conducted, including whether officers took reasonable steps to protect occupants’ privacy and whether the treatment described by the women was necessary for any lawful arrest.
The allegations have not been independently established, and the residents’ accounts do not, by themselves, establish the full circumstances of the raid.
At Least 20 People Reportedly Arrested
SaharaReporters reported that no fewer than 20 people, including women, were arrested during the operation.
According to the residents, 18 of those arrested were subsequently released after investigators reportedly found nothing suspicious against them, while two people were detained overnight.
The residents also alleged that some of those arrested were beaten, brutalised and harassed during the exercise and that personal belongings were damaged.
The reported release of 18 people raises a further question about the basis on which residents were initially taken into custody and whether the operation included adequate safeguards against mistaken suspicion.
Their release does not, on its own, establish that the arrests were unlawful. Equally, an arrest made during a legitimate investigation would not automatically justify unnecessary force, unwanted physical contact or degrading treatment.
The residents said the subsequent releases did not undo the distress they experienced or the alleged damage to their property.
Constitutional Rights and the Conduct of Raids
The allegations touch on fundamental rights protected by Nigeria’s Constitution.
Section 34 guarantees respect for the dignity of every person and prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Section 37 protects the privacy of citizens, their homes and other aspects of private and family life.
These guarantees do not prevent law enforcement agencies from carrying out legitimate investigations or making lawful arrests. They do, however, provide an important standard against which allegations of excessive force, degrading treatment and intrusion into private homes must be assessed.
If the accounts are substantiated, the alleged touching of women while naked would warrant particular scrutiny. The question is not simply whether the EFCC had grounds to investigate suspected financial crimes, but whether its officers conducted the operation in a manner consistent with the rights and dignity of people in the apartments.
A credible investigation would need to establish the circumstances of entry, the authority under which officers searched the premises, the treatment of occupants, the reasons for each arrest and the condition in which property was left.
Residents who allege misconduct also need a clear channel through which complaints can be documented, investigated and resolved.
Ilorin Allegations Emerge Amid Separate Lagos Raid Controversy
The Ilorin incident comes amid renewed attention to the EFCC’s enforcement operations following a separate raid at Applewood Estate, Orchid Road, Lekki, Lagos State.
On Monday, October 26, 2026, operatives from the commission’s Lagos Directorate 1 arrested 21 suspected cybercrime fraudsters during an operation conducted at about 5am. The EFCC also reported recovering five exotic cars.
According to a statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, preliminary investigations implicated 19 of the 21 suspects, while the remaining two were released. The commission said the 19 suspects would be arraigned in court.
The EFCC alleged that the suspects obtained money from unsuspecting victims through gift cards, cryptocurrencies and international money transfers while impersonating other people.
The commission also said a young woman who allegedly attempted to alert suspects by telephone was held during the exercise and had her phone confiscated until the operation ended. It said the phone was later returned.
Amid questions about the operation, the EFCC maintained that its officers acted professionally and denied that there had been harassment, intimidation or unlawful arrests.
It urged Nigerians to support its fight against economic and financial crimes, while warning against what it described as attempts by blackmailers and alarmists to undermine its mandate.
Those statements concern the separate Lagos operation. They do not amount to a response to the allegations made by women in Ilorin.
Questions Over Repeated Raids
The Lagos operation has also generated online debate about the frequency of EFCC raids in the Orchid Road area and the treatment of people encountered during such exercises.
One social media user, posting as @ImoAkpan99275, questioned reports that the area had experienced six raids in two months.
“Six times in two months? People deserve answers and transparency. If these raids are happening that frequently, the authorities should clarify what’s going on and ensure the law is followed,” the user wrote.
However, claims that Orchid Road was raided six times in two months or four times over two years could not be independently verified by SaharaReporters. They should not be treated as established facts without further evidence.
A separate video circulating online reportedly showed EFCC personnel confronting and assaulting a young man during the Lagos operation. SaharaReporters said it could not independently establish the circumstances of the incident or verify the identities of those in the footage.
The social media reaction reflects wider concerns about how anti-fraud operations are conducted, but online commentary alone cannot establish whether individual officers acted unlawfully.
EFCC Yet to Respond to Ilorin Allegations
SaharaReporters said it contacted EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Wednesday morning for comments on the allegations of molestation made by a female resident of Agric Estate in Ilorin.
He had not responded to the enquiries as of the time the original report was filed.
A response from the commission would be important in establishing whether it has opened an internal investigation, whether the officers involved have been identified and whether the agency disputes the residents’ accounts.
The immediate issue is not whether the EFCC should investigate suspected internet fraud. It is whether such investigations are conducted in a way that protects the rights of residents who have not been shown to have committed an offence.
For the women who spoke out, the alleged invasion of their bedrooms has turned a law enforcement operation into a question about whether people can feel secure in their own homes.
Until the allegations are investigated and the commission provides its account, important questions remain unanswered about the conduct of the Ilorin operation, the treatment of those arrested and the safeguards available to residents who believe their rights have been violated.
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