The representative of Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011, Senator Bode Ola, has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission lied against him that the cyber cafe located in his hotel was used to commit cybe crimes.
Ola also said it was not true that the EFCC had registered cyber cafes operating in the country, challenging the commission to produce a list of those it had registered.
Ola, in a statement on Monday, said that at no time was his hotel, Friendly Hotel located in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, used for cyber crimes.
He said that contrary to the position of the EFCC, as contained in a statement by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, no student even used his cafe for cyber crimes.
The EFCC had said that a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Olasaidi Dare, recently jailed for five years by an Abuja High Court, used Ola’s cyber cafe in sending a scam mail.
But Ola said this was false.
He said the scam mail sent by Dare was in 2006 whereas the student was arrested in his cafe in 2008.
Ola said: “The EFCC is wrong in the sense that I am not in any way connected with the cyber crime of which Olasaidi Dare has been convicted. Ownership of a hotel/cyber café is not an offence and is no way a reason for convicting the owner for an offence committed by a customer.
“Since registering a café with the EFCC is a public issue, I hereby challenge that EFCC should publish the list of registered cyber cafes in Ekiti State or in any other state in the federation.
“The cyber café in the hotel is duly registered with CAC and NCC which is the normal procedure and which has been duly complied with. The EFCC does not even have a procedure for registration of hotels or cyber cafes. So, one begins to wonder what the basis of their trumped-up charges.
“The EFCC should come out to tell the whole world about their hidden agenda which has motivated them to be persecuting through the media in attempt to destroy my person.”