A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has condemned the raid of his home by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday.

The EFCC stormed the Ikoyi, Lagos home of Obanikoro and seized some vital documents, vehicles and other valuables.

Obanikoro described the raid as illegal because the EFCC did not produce any court order, adding that the anti-graft agency did not invite him for questioning.

The former minister, who contested the Lagos governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, said this in a series of tweets on his official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

He said “The invasion and raid of my residence by the EFCC is a sad throwback to the tyrannical past that is better forgotten. In 16 years of democracy, we thought we had conquered despotism for good in Nigeria but in one year, this government has brought it back. Let me reiterate clearly that I have never received any invitation from the EFCC over any issue up till date. This invasion, therefore, is premature.

“The illegal invasion and raid is a mockery of justice, an expression of disdain towards the judicial system and a terribly bad precedent. The illegal invasion, without notice of investigation or a court order, is also a mockery of the intelligence of Nigerians.

“If the harassment of PDP members will help the government to deliver good governance, many of us would submit ourselves willingly to martyrdom. If hounding PDP members will solve Nigeria’s economic woes, then we welcome it.”

Obanikoro said the Federal Government was hounding opposition leaders in order to distract attention from its failures.

The former minister said he spent two decades of his life in public service without a “blemished record.”

Obanikoro said the invasion of his house and that of a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, had made him lose confidence in the government.

He said, “The EFCC has never officially made public any investigation of my record in government at any time before this illegal invasion of my house. I put close to two decades into public service, in opposition and in government, all with an unblemished record and a clear conscience. To put one’s family and dependents through the trauma of illegal invasion, in this holy month of Ramadan, is an unfair reward for service.

“Since the EFCC opted to make this a media trial/circus, let them make public any document linking me or any of my children to any financial scam. The allegations are lies not backed by facts or evidence but a burning desire to obliterate the opposition and keep Nigerians distracted.”