The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has identified the individual responsible for the killing of its Assistant Superintendent, Sahabi Salisu, as a kidnapper and ritual killer operating under the guise of an internet fraudster.
The EFCC revealed that the incident occurred during a lawful operation on January 17 2025 in Awka, Anambra State.
According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the suspect, Joshua Chukwubueze Ikechukwu, attacked officers during the midnight raid, killing Salisu and injuring another.
Oyewale noted that intelligence reports show a concerning trend of internet fraudsters arming themselves and engaging in criminal activities such as kidnapping, ritual killings, and banditry. He warned against perceiving such individuals as mere “Yahoo boys and girls,” emphasising their threat to public safety.
The operation, carried out at Dr J.O. Ukwutinife Close, Ifite, Awka, targeted suspected internet fraudsters. The EFCC successfully apprehended 37 individuals from a two-storey building. However, Ikechukwu, monitoring the officers via CCTV, refused to cooperate. Instead, he opened fire, killing Salisu.
Preliminary investigations revealed Ikechukwu’s involvement in internet fraud and other illicit activities, with laptops, iPads, and recording devices seized from his apartment. He is now in police custody and faces prosecution.
“The operation was initially smooth sailing with 37 suspected internet fraudsters already arrested at a two-storey building housing Ikechukwu and other occupants of the house.
“However, Ikechukwu, who sighted the investigators through a CCTV Camera mounted at his doorpost and who also confessed sighting them, declined to open his door for the investigators, who politely demanded entrance to his apartment.
“Defying all the introduction and physical sighting of the investigators, he resorted to firing shots at them and killed Salisu in the process and wounded another officer detailed to conduct a search in his apartment,” the statement read.
The EFCC condemned false social media narratives surrounding the incident, describing them as irresponsible and inhumane. It reiterated its commitment to protecting its officers and intensifying efforts against internet fraud and corruption.
“It is heinous to reduce the death of a gallant officer, who was carrying out patriotic and official duties to social media razzmatazz,” the anti-graft agency said in a statement.
“The milk of human kindness demands that a grieving family, Commission and nation should be spared the shenanigans of false narratives and conjectures on the death of the slain officer.
“Salisu, alongside other investigators of the EFCC, were at Dr. J.O. Ukwutinife Close, Ifite, Awka, Anambra State, to arrest some suspected internet fraudsters in the early hours of January 17.
“The operation was duly documented at the Anambra State Command Headquarters and Area Command of the Nigeria Police in line with operational protocols,” the statement added.
Expressing sorrow over Salisu’s death, the EFCC thanked sister agencies and the public for their support and pledged to bring all perpetrators of such violence to justice.
“The EFCC also wishes to alert the public that the activities of internet fraudsters are becoming patently hazardous to public safety and security.
“Intelligence has shown that these criminals are carrying arms, involved in kidnapping, banditry, ritual killings and other deadly acts. The public should not fold its arms or allow itself to be deceived that they are mere ‘Yahoo boys and girls’,” the Commission said.
