HURIWA flays EFCC’s alleged persecution of Audu Friday, urges adherence to rule of law

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has condemned in the strongest terms the alleged continued persecution, arbitrary detention, and character assassination of Citizen Audu Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), describing the commission’s actions as a gross violation of human rights and due process.

In a statement made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, HURIWA expressed deep concern over what it called a “brazen abuse of prosecutorial powers” by the anti-graft agency, accusing it of orchestrating a campaign of deliberate falsehoods and reckless defamation against Audu Friday, an Abuja-based businessman, who has been reportedly incarcerated by the EFCC for over 100 days under suspicious and unproven allegations of cyber fraud and money laundering.

According to HURIWA, the alleged actions of the EFCC—ranging from unlawful detention, physical assault, duplicate charges in different courts, to deliberate media disinformation—amount to a calculated attempt to prejudice the ongoing legal process and publicly convict the accused before he has had a fair chance to defend himself.

“The EFCC has crossed the line of decency, legality, and professionalism in its desperate effort to demonize a citizen who voluntarily honored their informal invitations and has cooperated fully with their investigations,” HURIWA said in the statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko.

“The fact that the EFCC claimed in a recent press statement that Audu Friday was arrested during a so-called ‘surprise raid’ in December 2024, while available records indicate he only began contact with the commission in January 2025, raises serious questions about the agency’s credibility and motives. Furthermore, labeling him as the mastermind of a ‘792-member scam syndicate’ without a single shred of verifiable evidence or judicial conviction is irresponsible and defamatory,” the group opined.

HURIWA also decried what it described as a disturbing pattern of rights violations, including Friday’s reported physical assault within court premises and his re-arrest despite meeting stringent bail conditions, only to be re-arraigned on duplicate charges before a different court.

“This is nothing short of state-sponsored harassment and malicious prosecution,” HURIWA emphasized, warning that such behavior by a statutory agency undermines the very essence of the rule of law and erodes public trust in the justice system.

The rights group called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately order an independent investigation into the matter and to hold EFCC operatives accountable for any acts of misconduct. HURIWA also urged the judiciary to assert its independence and ensure that Audu Friday is granted a fair hearing without interference or extrajudicial influence.

“This citizen, like every Nigerian, is entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a competent court of law. The EFCC must be restrained from continuing its trial-by-media campaign and instead focus on presenting credible evidence before the court,” the group concluded.

HURIWA reiterated its commitment to defending civil liberties and vowed to monitor the proceedings closely to ensure that justice is not only done but is seen to be done in the case of Citizen Audu Friday.