Nigeria jails 15 foreign nationals for cyber crime offences

Fifteen Asians have been jailed in Nigeria for cyber terrorism and internet fraud. Photo / Getty Images

A Nigerian court has jailed 15 foreign nationals – all Asians – for “cyber terrorism and internet fraud”, the national anti-graft agency says, one of the largest such cases in the country.

Eleven Filipinos, two Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of one million naira (about $630) each in the commercial capital, Lagos, on Friday after pleading guilty, said Economic and Financial Crimes Commission spokesman Dele Oyewale.

They were accused of recruiting young Nigerians for “identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality”.

“The judges also ordered that the devices recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria,” Oyewale said.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is saddled with a reputation for internet fraudsters known in local slang as “Yahoo Boys”.

The commission has busted several hideouts where young criminals learn their scams.

Cyber crime experts also warn foreign “cyber crime syndicates” have set up shop in the country to exploit its weak cyber security systems.

The commission said foreign gangs recruited Nigerian accomplices to find victims online through phishing scams, in which attackers typically try to deceive victims into transferring them money or revealing sensitive information such as passwords.

The scams target mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans, the agency said.

In December, the commission arrested 792 suspects in a single operation in the affluent Victoria Island area of Lagos.

At least 192 of the suspects were foreign nationals – 148 of them Chinese, the agency said.

Dozens of other Chinese suspects are also standing trial for similar crimes.

– Agence France-Presse