Octogenarian Accuses EFCC of Illegal Property Takeover

Mrs Adetona Funke Adebowale, an octogenarian and mother of convicted fake Army General, Bolarinwa Abiodun, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of forcefully taking possession of her family house.

She said she jointly owns the house with her husband.

She said the property was taken over despite her son filing a stay of execution of the judgment convicting him.

The EFCC, following the conviction of Abiodun by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of a Lagos Special Offences Court, took possession of the property on 1A, Joke Ayo Street, Riverside Estate, Alagbado, Lagos.

The anti-graft agency also took possession of other assets in the property, including assorted vehicles.

Justice Taiwo had on July 8 convicted and sentenced Abiodun to seven years imprisonment and ordered him to forfeit all the proceeds of the crime.

Mrs Adebowale said she was traumatised by the operatives who came to seize the properties.

She said: “They insisted I open the gate. Later they said they only wanted to take a video of the house and nothing more. I tried to explain to them that the house belongs to my husband and I, and not my son that was in their custody.

“As they entered, they started packing our belongings. I reminded them that they only said they wanted to video the house. They then told me that all our personal effects in the house now belonged to them.

“I protested, telling them to go and ask the person in their custody where his own house is. I tried to explain to them that the house belongs to my husband and I, but they shouted at me, saying they were not interested in the nonsense I wanted to tell them.”

She added: “They later asked me for the keys to my son’s room and his office. I told them I did not have them. The room I was using before, which was then occupied by our visitors, was later ransacked.

“While one of them was trying to break into the other rooms I told them I wasn’t with the keys.

“When I challenged the man trying to break the doors, he told me that even the property in the house was not enough to pay the debt owed by my son.”

The octogenarian said all the doors that she could not find the keys to were forcefully broken into.