The teenager was reportedly killed in May 2026 in the Kanshio area of Makurdi, Benue State, prompting allegations of extrajudicial killing and renewed concerns over the conduct of anti-graft operatives during enforcement operations.
In a statement released on Saturday, the EFCC presented its account of events leading to the teenager’s death.
According to the commission, 26 suspected internet fraud suspects were arrested on April 28, 2026, by operatives attached to its Makurdi Zonal Directorate. The agency said the suspects were subsequently profiled, arraigned and remanded by the court.
The commission stated that on May 4, three of the suspects, including Sesugh, escaped from custody after requesting permission to use the toilet. It alleged that the detainees broke through the roof of the facility and fled.
The EFCC also shared photographs on its X account showing what appeared to be damage to the roof structure of its detention facility.
Providing further details, the anti-graft agency said intelligence received on May 21 led operatives to a location in Kanshio where Sesugh was allegedly hiding.
According to the EFCC, the team came under attack upon arrival.
“Operatives of the commission returned fire in self-defence. All the suspected cult members, including Sesugh, fled owing to the exchange of fire between them and EFCC operatives.
“However, Sesugh was later sighted lying in a pool of blood by the roadside. He was promptly taken to the Police Cottage Hospital at the Police Headquarters in Makurdi, where he was pronounced dead,” the EFCC said.
The commission maintained that the teenager was neither in its custody at the time of the incident nor released on bail.
Despite the explanation, many Nigerians questioned the EFCC’s version of events, with several social media users expressing doubts over the circumstances surrounding the alleged escape and subsequent shooting.
Human rights activist Rinu Oduala was among those who criticised the commission’s account.
“A 17-year-old boy opened fire? He was first a fraudster, then a cult member who broke a toilet roof and escaped from your own custody, in your own office?”
Another social media user wrote, “Everybody allegedly ran away. Then later, the same suspect was ‘sighted lying in a pool of blood by the roadside.’ Did the bullet chase him on its own?”
A third commenter stated, “From suspected fraudsters to suspected cultists. I wonder how you guys sleep at night, considering how you’ve ruined someone else’s life. What a country.”
Another added, “This story isn’t believable. This entire write-up is nonsensical. Please go back and investigate the death of this young man.”
In an earlier interview, the teenager’s mother, Jennifer Atsar, rejected the EFCC’s claims and described her son as a Junior Secondary School 3 student who combined furniture apprenticeship with menial jobs to support his family.
She alleged that EFCC operatives had previously arrested her son but later released him after finding no incriminating evidence against him. According to her, the officials allegedly retained his phone and demanded N100,000 before it could be returned.
Recounting the events of the day he died, she said her son left home with a friend before news of his death reached the family.