The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over the increasing involvement of young Nigerians, including secondary school students, in internet fraud, amid reports of a parents’ association linked to alleged internet fraudsters emerging in parts of Ekiti State.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who is an indigene of Ikere-Ekiti, expressed concern over what he described as the growing culture of quick wealth among youths in the state, warning that some students were abandoning their education to engage in cybercrime.
Olukoyede disclosed that some secondary school students were allegedly leaving school during school hours to gather in hotels and engage in fraudulent activities, with some already driving expensive vehicles.
He said, “If you go to the secondary school that I attended now, sir, by 12 noon, the students have left school. You see them in hotels, in groups, trying to scam people. You see secondary school students driving vehicles.”
According to him, the situation goes beyond internet fraud, as some young people allegedly involved in cybercrime have also been linked to more serious crimes, including banditry and kidnapping.
“Is that the nation we want to build? Now, sir, let me tell you the most dangerous aspect of it. It’s not just about Yahoo Yahoo. Nigerians should know this. Some of them are into banditry. We have evidence. We have proof. Some of them are into kidnapping,” he said.
The EFCC chairman also alleged that internet fraudsters were being used as channels for laundering funds allegedly diverted by politically exposed persons through cryptocurrency wallets.
Olukoyede said, “When they steal government money in billions now, they give it to all these boys. They open cryptocurrency wallet, crypto wallet and they put the money there. From there, the money goes abroad.”
The development has reportedly given rise to an association of parents of young people allegedly involved in internet fraud, popularly known as “Iya Omo-ologo”, in some parts of Ekiti State.
Meanwhile, the EFCC’s operations in the state have generated concerns among some hotel, lounge and entertainment operators, who claimed that patronage had declined since the commission commenced its activities in Ekiti.
However, the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, dismissed allegations that the commission was harassing legitimate businesses, insisting that its operations were targeted at criminal activities.
Oyewale said, “We don’t harass, and we don’t intimidate. We don’t do night operations. Our officers are professionals; they know what to do.”
He added that the commission was in Ekiti to protect legitimate businesses and create an environment where lawful enterprises could thrive.
“We are in Ekiti State to help businesses grow. We are there to ensure that every threat to lawful businesses is removed. There is no way our activities can negatively affect legitimate businesses,” Oyewale said.
He assured law-abiding business owners that they had nothing to fear from the commission’s operations, stressing that the EFCC would continue to pursue activities capable of undermining the state’s economic and social development.
