Oluwateniola Omidiji, a 300-level Nursing Science student at Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged debt owed by her mother, Mrs. Omoniyi Omidiji. The 19-year-old was apprehended on April 26, 2024, on the university premises by EFCC operatives.
The debt in question stems from a business transaction carried out by Oluwateniola’s widowed mother in 2020, which involved a sum of N100,000,000 invested by Mr. Charles Nwoko into Mrs. Omidiji’s business. According to Nwoko, Mrs. Omidiji subsequently traveled abroad, leaving the debt unsettled.
The EFCC’s investigation revealed that Mrs. Omidiji utilized a company called Elisto Global Services Limited, with four individuals listed as directors, including Oluwateniola, to receive the investment from Nwoko.
Despite Oluwateniola’s status as a minor at the time of her mother’s business venture, the EFCC maintains that she should be held accountable for her mother’s actions in the joint venture with Nwoko.
In response, Oluwateniola’s lawyer, Chijioke Emeka, SAN, has filed a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, seeking enforcement of her client’s rights. Emeka argues that Oluwateniola’s detention violates her fundamental rights to human dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and freedom of movement.
The lawyer is demanding N10,000,000 in damages for his client. However, efforts to obtain comments from the EFCC’s head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, have been unsuccessful, and no date has been set for further hearing on the matter.
