11th November, 2010
Six officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday raided the premises of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) and arrested the Centre’s administrator.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the children at the centre numbering more than 250 resisted the EFCC officials and blocked the entrance with their school desks and blocks to prevent their administrator from being taken away.
The officials, however, bowed to the pressure in order to avoid conflict with the children and released the CRARN administrator, who they had already taken into their bus.
Mr Bassey Nkang, the administrator of the centre, told NAN that the officials who came in a white bus with Abuja registration number identified themselves as officials of EFCC from Lagos.
He said the EFCC officials were at the centre to effect the arrest of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
“I told them that we have no such title and that the President of CRARN, Mr Sam Itauma, was out of town for medical treatment, after the children blocked everywhere, they later called the Secretary of the centre.
“They claimed that they received a petition against the centre and requested for the key officials of CRARN to appear in their Lagos Office to assist the EFCC in its investigations into the allegation,†Nkang said.
Akwa Ibom government had on September 9, ordered the arrest of the officials of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) centre for abandoned children in Eket.
The state Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, who gave the order in a radio phone-in programme while reacting to a news report by Cable News Network (CNN), accused the NGO of exaggerating the child witch syndrome in the state for monetary gains.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 P.M.News