Nigeria: CFWIJ condemns the raid at Norah Okafor’s house

September 24, 2021, Umuahia - Officers from The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) broke into Norah Okafor’s house in the middle of the night without any prior notice. They harassed Norfah’s family and damaged her property without offering any reasons. According to Norah, they were armed men who came prepared in a vehicle and were around 25 in number. Norah is understandably shocked at this entirely unprovoked attack.

In a post shared on Facebook, the journalist provided details of the incident. It appears to be a pre-planned attack in complete violation of the civil rights of Norah and her family. The men were armed, outnumbered the family members and blatantly attempted to intimidate them as they damaged Norah’s private property.

“These fools spent over one hour molesting and destroying things in this compound. I feel so pained and embarrassed right now. Is this how EFCC operates? How did we get here? Who is the informant? I am just confused right now. Thank God my mum isn't here,” Norah said in the post, concerned for her family’s safety. 

“The worst case scenario for me is that they will rape or take the only valuable available (a car key) so I prepared my mind,” she mentions in the post highlighting the double edged sword women journalists face in a patriarchal society.

However, when contacted by a local news platform, Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for the commission, claimed he was not aware of the raid. Uwujaren claims that Abia, the state that Norah resides in, does not fall in his jurisdiction. However, this is not the first time the EFCC has crossed institutional boundaries. Earlier this month, officers from the organization had conducted a series of raids on some hotels in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, allegedly in search of someone who had committed digital fraud. In the process they had even open-fired at the lodgers. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled at the incident and demands an immediate investigation into the matter. The raid was not only in complete violation of Norah Okafor’s civil rights, it was also a deeply dehumanizing and dangerous experience. No state institution should be given the liberty to terrorize its own citizens, that is a direct threat to principles of democracy. The perpetrators of this incident should immediately be brought to justice.