Mother Accuses EFCC of Killing 16-Year-Old Son Following Financial Fraud Allegations

A grieving mother, Ms Jennifer Atsar, has publicly accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of killing her 16-year-old son, Sesugh, following his arrest over alleged internet fraud.

The 35-year-old single mother, who sustains her five children by processing and selling garri in Makurdi, Benue State, detailed the harrowing sequence of events that led to her teenage son's demise. She explained that Sesugh, a junior secondary school student who balanced his studies with menial construction work and furniture-making apprenticeships, was initially taken into custody by anti-graft agents on 26 April 2026.

According to Ms Atsar, her son was later released from custody but returned home without his mobile phone. He informed her that the operatives had withheld the device, mandating that he pay a fee of N100,000 to secure its return.

The tragedy reached a boiling point on 23 May 2026, when Sesugh left the house with a friend, only for neighbours to rush back shortly after with the news that the teenager had been fatally shot.

While the family maintains that the teenager was shot without justification, the EFCC has firmly pushed back against allegations of extrajudicial murder. Providing the agency's official account, EFCC Spokesman Mr Dele Oyewale clarified that Sesugh was part of a trio of suspected cybercriminals who had successfully broken out of the commission's Makurdi holding cell on 5 May by escaping through the bathroom ceiling.

Oyewale stated that when a manhunt tracked the escapees to a specific regional hub, the suspects immediately opened fire on the approaching law enforcement team. The anti-graft agency maintains that the 16-year-old was fatally wounded during the ensuing gun duel, describing their response as a lawful defense mechanism against active armed resistance.