Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has warned that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigeria and recruiting young Nigerians into cybercrime, including cryptocurrency fraud.
Olukoyede made this disclosure while receiving participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC 18) from the National Institute for Security Studies, led by Director of Studies, Hyginus Ngele.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Olukoyede emphasised that foreign criminal networks are increasingly using Nigeria as a base for their operations.
He said, “Another dimension that is not given attention is the discovery, recently, that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into serious organised cybercrimes including cryptocurrency fraud.”
Another growing concern, he noted, is the illegal importation of arms into Nigeria, with investigations revealing that cryptocurrency is often used as a payment method for these transactions.
He said that in a recent EFCC operation in Lagos, 194 foreign nationals were arrested in a single building on Victoria Island. The suspects included Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans and Tunisians. Many lacked valid visas and most of their financial transactions were conducted through cryptocurrency.
Olukoyede further said, “Another thing that we discovered is that some of the foreigners we arrested were already ex-convicts in their countries. Some of them have been convicted and escaped from their countries and found safe haven in Africa, not only Nigeria. We discovered that they are also developing cells in some other African countries by virtue of the investigation we are carrying out.”
Olukoyede called for a coordinated effort at national and continental levels to combat the menace of internet fraud and foreign crime syndicates, highlighting the urgent need to address the links between money laundering and national security threats.
He urged all security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and Africa to work together in tackling this growing threat.
The EFCC chairman also pointed out that non-state actors have contributed to Nigeria’s security crises including insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and farmer-herder clashes. He mentioned that international NGOs operating in conflict zones such as the Northeast, are now required to register with the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) and report cash movements to the EFCC.
Speaking on behalf of the National Institute for Security Studies, Commandant Joseph Odama, represented by Ngele, commended the EFCC’s leadership in fighting financial crimes. He acknowledged the commission’s efforts in exposing networks that funnel funds to hostile non-state actors, fueling instability in Nigeria and other African nations.
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