EFCC Chair: 6 in 10 Undergrads in Cybercrimes

The Executive Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olukoyede Olanipekun, warned Tuesday that investigations show about six out of every 10 university undergraduates are involved in cybercrimes such as internet fraud, known locally as Yahoo Yahoo. He made the remarks during a keynote address at the 8th Biennial Conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria, held in Kano under the theme "Unlocking the Potentials of Artificial Intelligence: University Governance, Internationalisation and Rankings."

Olukoyede presented data from the EFCC's recent field operations, noting that many arrests involved enrolled students, some of whom allegedly recruited lecturers into fraudulent schemes. He cited a major raid in Lagos that detained 792 suspects linked to a transnational cybercrime network, with a significant portion being students. The operation, aided by artificial intelligence tools, highlighted the networks' sophistication and cross-border operations from Nigerian campuses. He also flagged a emerging variant, Yahoo Plus, which combines online scams with occult practices, complicating enforcement efforts.