The operatives of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have denied claims of assaulting Nollywood actress, Helen Aduru.

Naija News earlier reported that Helen in a post shared on her Instagram page on Saturday, 3rd September, alleged that the EFCC stormed her home in Enugu and brutalize her.

The president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, in a post on Instagram, condemned the actions of the operatives of the anti-graft agency on its member, whilst demanding compensation.

The president had alleged that the operatives, some weeks ago, had pounced on the actress for refusing to open the door for them to gain access into her compound.

He revealed the identities of two of the operatives who carried out the dastardly act on the actress as ADE and ABDULLAHI from the Enugu Zonal office.

EFCC Speaks

In a statement released on Sunday, the EFCC faulted Helen’s claims, describing her as a mere publicity-seeking player, with a poorly- scripted claim that has fallen flat in the face of unassailable facts available to the Commission.

According to the statement titled ‘False and Misleading Video in Circulation on EFCC Operations’ the anti-graft agency said the incident is blackmail and they would not succumb to it.

The statement read: The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to an online video trending on Instagram, from the handle of a certain “@Iamhelenaduru”, a self- styled actress, purporting, quite mischievously, an assault by operatives of the Commission.

“Checks by the Commission, however, flagged Helen Aduru, an upcoming actress, as a mere publicity- seeking player, with a poorly- scripted claim that has fallen flat in the face of unassailable facts available to the Commission

“In her script, she was quick to include five names of officers she claimed came from the Cybercrime Section of the Enugu Command of the Commission. Characteristically, EFCC’s officers don’t wear name tags nor move around with bulldozer- shaped equipment to pull down security doors.

“Aduru claimed, rather strangely, that she was assisted by a little boy, to a Police Station at 3:44 am but met the station shut. It is important to note that Police Stations are not civil service ministries that close in the evening. Even more preposterous is the fact that she never went back, at daybreak, to lodge a complaint. More poignantly untenable is the fact that her purported assault of July 21, 2022, which has not been logged nearly two months later at the Police Station is only being brought to public glare on September 2, 2022!! Such a scene could only stand on a typical Nollywood fiction series.

“Such claims by Aduru, like all other stranger- than- fiction, click-baiting, sympathy-seeking ploys, do not merit a response but for the need to avoid “silence is acquiescence” stance of mischief makers. Deeper checks on the matter only showed that, certain blackmailers could be bandying some known names in the Enugu Zonal Command to settle some scores.

“The Commission, strictly guided by its Standard Operational Procedure, would not succumb to blackmail or any sleight of hand by any character. The poorly- scripted video would be further analysed for more forensic details and possible legal action to dissuade those who seem to be making an industry of falsely accusing and maligning the Commission. Members of the public are enjoined to ignore Aduru’s claims. EFCC’s officers are not assaulters or terrorists.”

This article was originally published on Naija News