Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from Lagos zonal office have stormed the premises of the Osun State High Court in Ile-Ife to arrest a lawyer who was standing in for an alleged internet fraudster.
It was gathered the lawyer, Temitope Oyedipe was standing in for substantive counsel in the case, who was reportedly absent because he and his client have become targets of the operatives.
It was also gathered that the case is a garnishee proceedings against an alleged Yahoo boy.
Meanwhile, members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Osogbo Branch, are warming up to have a showdown the EFCC over what they termed as infringement on the Fundamental Rights of Oyedipe.
This was disclosed in a release made available to newsmen in Osogbo on by Dawood Ajetunmobi, the Publicity Secretary of the Branch. Ajetunmobi said Oyedipe held a brief of another colleague of his in a garnishee proceeding pending at the court.
“Immediately the news filtered to the Human Rights Committee of the NBA, Osogbo Branch, it was deliberated and a counsel, Comrade Nurudeen Kareem, has been assigned to proceed to the Commission’s office in Lagos today. The Chairman of the Branch, Hassan Agbelekale, Esq. has also contacted the Lagos and Ikeja Branches of the NBA for possible synergies to ensure the counsel is timely released.’’
“When the Committee inquired from the EFCC operatives via a telephone call, it was confirmed that Mr. Oyedipe was indeed arrested ‘when he could not give satisfactory information about the suit in which he appeared’, though he held a counsel’s brief.‘’
“The said substantive counsel and his client in the garnishee proceeding were said to be the targets of the operatives, but the duo were not present in court, and Mr Oyedipe held the lawyer’s brief as agreed between them. So far, the counsel Mr. Temitope Oyedipe is still in the office of the EFCC, Ikoyi Lagos. The Branch has put every mechanism in motion to ensure his release as soon as practicable.
‘’While consultations are ongoing with the leaders of the Association in Nigeria with a view to taking a collective but deterring decision on this condemnable act, the Branch calls on the EFCC to immediately release Mr. Temitope Oyedipe unconditionally.”
