By Uche Amunike
Unidentified Gunmen have stormed the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta, owned by former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, in the dead of the night, Sunday, shooting sporadically into the air and putting fear, not only into hotel guests, but also the entire neighborhood where the hotel is situated.
Upon invading the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta, the gunmen who many people suspected to be officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arrested some yet-to-be-identified people.
Unfortunately some of those arrested were reportedly, guests and photographers who attended an award presentation ceremony held at the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta.
An eyewitness confirmed that one of his workers who was a photographer at the award presentation has not been seen since after the operation, adding that the photographer and the other people picked up by the gunmen were forcefully taken to Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, since 2am when it happened.
After the operation which lasted for almost an hour, the suspected operatives reportedly went away with over 20 cars and many mobile phones, after harassing some guests and staffers of the hotel who preferred to remain anonymous.
Media office to the owner of Conference Hotel, Abeokuta, Mr Daniel confirmed the incident through a statement released to the press.
It stated that some unknown gunmen whom he believed where acting at the behest of one of the anti-graft agencies, stormed the premises of the hotel facility in Abeokuta in search of an unknown Yahoo boy and while at it, fired unnecessary shots which scared their innocent guests.
He however thanked the various security agencies who came to their rescue by restoring law and order and seeing that no life was lost. He thanked the customers for their understanding and patience while reassuring them, as well as the general public, of their safety at all times in every facility of the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta.
Recall that the EFCC raided some hotels a few months back, which offended some of their loved ones as they claimed that their rooms were broken into by the operatives while they were undressed.
On their parts, the Public Relations Officers of both the Lagos and Ibadan offices of the anti-graft agency, EFCC, have denied knowing about the alleged invasion.
Tokunbo Odebiyi, spokesperson for Ibadan zone of the anti-graft agency, EFCC, said he had no idea or information about the invasion of any hotel in Abeokuta. His Lagos counterpart, Ayo Oyewole also said he had no idea that there was a raid.
Contrary to the reports of the spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, Gbenga Daniel’s Media office insisted that the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta was raided at about 2am on Sunday.
One of the hotel guests said that the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta attracted a lot of people to the hotel because of the award party that was held in the premises, and that the gunmen who allegedly broke into the rooms of guests during the raid took with them, mobile phones, laptops and even exotic cars that reportedly belonged to suspected fraudsters.
