The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has raised concerns over the growing presence of foreign fraud syndicates in Nigerian cities, where they are recruiting youths into organized cybercrime, including cryptocurrency fraud.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, noting that Olukoyede made the revelation while addressing participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 18 at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) on Wednesday.
Olukoyede expressed alarm over how insurgents and criminal groups have sustained their operations in Nigeria, citing the influx of small arms, illegal mineral exploitation, and the activities of non-state actors as compounding security threats.
“A recent and alarming discovery is that organized foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities, recruiting young Nigerians into cybercrime, including cryptocurrency fraud,” he said.
According to him, investigations suggest that these groups may also be involved in smuggling arms into the country, using cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
During a recent special operation in Lagos, the EFCC arrested 194 foreigners in a building on Victoria Island. “The suspects included Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, and Tunisians. Some lacked valid visas, and most of their financial transactions were conducted through cryptocurrency,” he revealed.
The commission also found that several of those arrested were ex-convicts in their home countries who had fled to Africa, establishing criminal cells across the continent.
Olukoyede called for stronger national and continental efforts to tackle internet fraud, emphasizing the need for security agencies to collaborate in addressing money laundering and threats to national security.
Earlier, NISS Commandant Joseph Odama, represented by Director of Studies Hyginus Ngele, commended Olukoyede’s leadership of the EFCC. He noted that the commission’s achievements in combating corruption and financial crimes had strengthened Nigeria’s global reputation.
Odama also acknowledged the EFCC’s role in exposing financial networks that fund hostile non-state actors, fueling instability in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. He urged deeper collaboration in strengthening legal and institutional frameworks to combat such threats while ensuring transparency and accountability.
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