Africa’s most populous country has been known for decades for widespread cyber fraud among youngsters, locally known as ‘Yahoo boys.’ Who hasn’t heard of the poor Nigerian prince in trouble, asking for money and promising to repay millions?
The fake prince’s emails started circulating in the 1990s, and even three decades later, it appears that people still fall for the story.
Meanwhile, Nigerian youths have engaged in a variety of schemes, including romance fraud, where the perpetrator adopts a fake identity online and seduces the victim, often offering marriage but asking for financial help to meet. Once the money is received, the fake lover disappears.
Another popular scheme is the so-called Business Email Compromise (BEC), also known as CEO fraud. It targets high-profile businesses. The fraudster gains access to a company’s computer server and poses as an executive, tricking an employee or client into making an unauthorized wire transfer into a bank account controlled by the fraudster.
Other forms of fraud include email phishing, greeting card scams, credit card or bank loan scams, lottery fee scams, identity shaming, website pranks, silhouetted profiles, and high-tech disaster fraud, according to experts.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said the suspects were arrested over the weekend following actionable intelligence suggesting their involvement in internet-related offenses.
Just days earlier, a student of the Federal University of Minna, @violawiz, alleged on X that in another raid, EFCC officers “broke into off-campus lodges in Futmina” and took students who were supposed to have exams the next day to an unknown location. “We’re living in a jungle,” he complained.
Many believe the raids and detentions are often carried out randomly, with innocent people being rounded up.
A year ago, authorities temporarily detained 70 students from Obafemi Awolowo University during a midnight raid on hostels located outside the campus. Some of the students later protested, carrying banners that read: ‘I am a medical student, not a Yahoo Boy’ and ‘Criminals trying to arrest criminals.’
In February, the anti-graft agency also detained 48 students from Kwara State University (KWASU) for other cyber fraud-related offenses.
Nigeria is experiencing a high level of youth unemployment, which experts claim has contributed to an alarming rate of cybercrimes in the country.
Many young men and women are increasingly drawn to criminal activities, specifically internet fraud, as they seek quick wealth, Chubby Reuben, a member of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria told OCCRP on Tuesday.
This trend, he noted, is detrimental to the nation's progress, as it diverts the energy and potential of the youth into illegal endeavors.
Of the 151 million young Nigerians, 53% are unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The country relies on international organizations for youth employment policy recommendations, while corruption exacerbates the situation.
