A 35-year-old garri seller, Ms Jennifer Atsar, has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of killing her 16-year-old son, Sesugh Atsar, in Makurdi, Benue State, on May 23, 2026, alleging that the boy was shot at close range after being lured to a hotel by EFCC officers in plain clothes, that he was unarmed, that he had been released on bail before the shooting, and that his dying words included the name of the officer who shot him.
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The EFCC has given a starkly different account, with the commission’s spokesman Dele Oyewale stating that Sesugh was one of three suspected internet fraudsters who escaped from lawful custody through the roof of a toilet on May 5, that the commission had been on a manhunt for the escapees, and that when operatives located Sesugh, he and others “opened fire” on EFCC officers, resulting in a “gun duel” in which the teenager was fatally shot.
The conflicting accounts have raised serious questions about the circumstances of the killing of a minor, the EFCC’s use of lethal force, and whether the commission’s account of a gun battle involving a 16-year-old JSS 3 student and furniture apprentice is credible.
The Mother’s Account
Jennifer Atsar, who lives in Kanshio, Makurdi, told Punch newspaper that Sesugh was her first child among five children. He would have turned 17 on December 26, 2026. He was a student of the New Educational Teaching Academic College, Makurdi, where he was in JSS 3 and was supposed to proceed to SSS 1. He was simultaneously learning furniture-making at a workshop and did menial jobs including construction site work to help his mother sustain the family.
“He would have gone farther than that, but there was no money. Most of the time, he did menial jobs to complement what I earned to sustain the family,” Atsar said, gesturing toward the mud house where the family lives.
Atsar said she was not at home when Sesugh was initially arrested because her fifth child was ill and she was at the hospital. She said Sesugh later returned home and told her he had been released but that the EFCC had withheld his phone and demanded N100,000 before they would return it.
Two days before his death, Atsar said, Sesugh told her that “EFCC officials arrested him but released him because they found nothing against him.” She maintained that he was on bail and not in EFCC custody at the time he was killed.
“They Chased Him and Shot Him at Close Range”
On the day of the killing, Atsar said Sesugh was at home when a friend came and the two went out together. A few hours later, a neighbour rushed to the house to tell her that her son had been killed.
According to what witnesses told her, two EFCC operatives in plain clothes called Sesugh’s friend to come to a hotel in the community where the EFCC men were staying. When Sesugh and his friend arrived at the hotel on a motorcycle, Sesugh got down, opened the gate, and they rode inside. Upon sighting them, one of the EFCC officers drew a gun.
“I was told that my son ran when he saw the gun. They chased him and shot him at close range,” Atsar stated.
She said that after Sesugh was shot, the EFCC operatives attempted to leave the scene, but people in the area insisted that the officers must take the body. Sesugh was still alive at that point.
“My son was even calling the name of the EFCC officer who shot him while gasping for breath. He demanded water,” Atsar said.
When residents insisted the officers must take Sesugh with them, they ordered a vehicle and took him to the police headquarters in Makurdi.
“How Could My Son Have a Gun?”
Atsar said she went to both the B Division Police Station and the state police command but did not receive any meaningful information. She initially did not know the EFCC was involved until people later told her.
When relatives and neighbours, including Sesugh’s furniture-making boss, visited the EFCC office, the head of the state office told them his men were at the scene undercover and that Sesugh and his friend had attempted to shoot the officers.
“I asked myself, ‘How could that happen? My son cannot be in possession of a gun. How and from where?'” Atsar said.
She said the EFCC also told visitors that Sesugh had written a confessional statement admitting involvement in fraud and having an OPay account, that he had disguised himself as a lady on Facebook, sold drugs, and was a cultist.
“I believe they fabricated all these allegations to justify the killing of my son,” Atsar stated. “Everyone within this community can attest to my son’s character. He was an easygoing person.”
She added that Sesugh only had an OPay account but had not yet obtained a Bank Verification Number (BVN) for it and therefore could not have operated a major bank account as the EFCC claimed.
“This was a boy who only had an OPay account. He had yet to obtain a Bank Verification Number for the account and, therefore, could not have operated a major bank account as the EFCC officials claimed. He was not a criminal and had never been one. Whatever he earned, he used to assist me in taking care of his siblings,” Atsar stated.
The EFCC’s Account
EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale provided a fundamentally different version of events in an interview with Punch.
According to Oyewale, a group of suspected internet fraudsters was arrested and taken to the EFCC’s holding facility in Makurdi on April 26. On May 5, three of the suspects, including Sesugh, said they wanted to use the toilet. “From the toilet, they climbed through the roof and escaped,” Oyewale stated.
He said the EFCC launched a manhunt for the escapees and eventually received intelligence that one of them was in a particular area of Makurdi. When operatives went to the location, the suspects allegedly “opened fire” on the officers.
“As we were getting there, they opened fire on our operatives. As a defence mechanism, we also had to respond. It was a gun duel; they wanted to kill our operatives, but one of them fell and was taken to the Police Cottage Hospital. We then reported the matter to the police, and they began an investigation,” Oyewale stated.
He rejected the mother’s claim that Sesugh was on bail: “How could somebody on bail escape from lawful custody? Which bail? Who was his surety? When was he bailed? If he was bailed, why would there be a need for a gun battle? This defies logic.”
On the question of the escape from custody, Oyewale said: “People escaping from lawful custody happens all over the world; sometimes, you have jailbreaks and all of that. Our systems are solidly fortified against such incidents. They escaped through the roof of the toilet. Would you prevent a suspect from using the toilet?”
He insisted the EFCC acted lawfully: “We didn’t kill anybody; we are doing our work lawfully. No law enforcement officer would be faced with such a gun challenge and not respond.”
The Contradictions
The two accounts are irreconcilable on virtually every material point.
The mother says Sesugh was released on bail and was at home for days before the shooting. The EFCC says he escaped from custody through a toilet roof and was a fugitive being pursued in a manhunt.
The mother says Sesugh was lured to a hotel by plain-clothes EFCC operatives who called his friend. The EFCC says operatives went to a location based on intelligence and were met with gunfire.
The mother says Sesugh ran when he saw a gun and was shot at close range while unarmed and fleeing. The EFCC says there was a “gun duel” in which the suspects opened fire first and officers responded in self-defence.
The mother says Sesugh was a 16-year-old furniture apprentice and JSS 3 student who did menial jobs to help feed his family and could not possibly possess a gun. The EFCC says he was a suspected internet fraudster who was part of a group that opened fire on law enforcement officers.
The mother says Sesugh was calling the name of the EFCC officer who shot him as he lay dying. The EFCC has not addressed this specific claim.
“Release My Son’s Corpse”
As of the date of her interview, Atsar said the EFCC was still holding her son’s body and that she had not been allowed to see the corpse. The commission had neither contacted her nor sent any message since the killing.
“Let them release my son’s corpse so that he can rest in peace. What I want is justice for my son. The officer who shot him must be made to face the consequences,” Atsar pleaded.
She described the impact of losing her eldest child in stark terms: “This was the person who had been helping me take care of his siblings through the menial jobs he did. Look at where we live. My son had been a source of encouragement to me whenever I broke down in tears. He always told me that, with God’s help, the future would be better. But now, EFCC officers have cut short that dream. They killed my son.”
Several critical questions arise from the conflicting accounts that neither the EFCC, the police, nor any independent body has publicly answered.
If Sesugh was a 16-year-old minor, what legal safeguards were in place when he was arrested and detained? The Child’s Rights Act and various international conventions impose specific obligations regarding the treatment of minors in custody, including limitations on detention and requirements for parental notification.
If the EFCC’s account of a gun duel is accurate, where did a 16-year-old furniture apprentice obtain a firearm? Has the weapon been recovered and subjected to forensic analysis? Were any EFCC operatives injured in the alleged exchange of gunfire?
If the mother’s account is accurate and Sesugh was released on bail, why does the EFCC claim he escaped from custody? If he escaped, was his mother notified, as would be required in the case of a minor?
Why were plain-clothes EFCC operatives at a hotel in the community, and why did they summon Sesugh’s friend to the location? If the EFCC was conducting a legitimate arrest operation against a fugitive, why was it conducted by officers in mufti at a hotel rather than through a formal arrest operation?
Why has the EFCC retained the body and not released it to the family or allowed the mother to see the corpse? What does the police investigation that the EFCC says was initiated after the incident reveal about the circumstances of the shooting?
The matter has been reported to the police, and according to the EFCC, the police have commenced an investigation. The outcome of that investigation, and whether any independent review of the use of lethal force against a 16-year-old is conducted, will determine whether justice is served in this case.
The body of Sesugh Atsar remains with the EFCC as at the time of this report. His mother continues to demand its release and the prosecution of the officer she says shot her son at close range.
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