By Ife Osemedua
This is not the best of times for the management and staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as the second wave of the dreaded COVID-19 appears to be hitting hard on the headquarters of the anti-crime agency.
While many people were in high spirits preparing for the Yuletide season, there was palpable fear and apprehension in the organisation, as news filtered in that a number of EFCC staffers in Abuja had tested positive to Coronavirus.
365Daily gathered from inside sources that the Commission, located at Jabi area of Abuja, was subsequently forced to shut down, even before the commencement of Christmas break, due to the unfortunate development.
Several people were said to have been affected in different departments and units, including some management staff and field operatives.
For instance, 365Daily gathered that at least two people tested positive to the virus in the Human Resource Department, Forensic Department and Media Unit, respectively, within the same period, giving rise to fears and speculations of a possible widespread of the virus in the Commission.
This development forced the management to issue a directive that all EFCC staffers that operate from the Abuja headquarters should work from home, even before the federal government’s recent order that civil servants of grade level 12 and below should stay off duty for five weeks.
It is feared that with the number of people that tested positive to COVID-19 in the days before Christmas in the Commission, many more staffers may have contracted the virus before the directive to stay off duty was given.