Nigeria Deports 42 Foreign Cybercrime Convicts In First Wave Of Mass Deportation
The Nigerian Immigration Service has begun deporting dozens of foreign nationals convicted of cybercrime and Ponzi scheme offences.
On Sunday, August 17, the first batch of 42 Chinese and Philippine nationals boarded a flight out of Nigeria at exactly 2:00 p.m. local time. They were among 192 foreigners convicted after a high-profile raid on December 10, 2023, at Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The deportations will continue on Monday, August 18, and Tuesday, August 19, as the remaining convicts are returned to their home countries.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the syndicate had been running a large-scale cyber fraud and Ponzi scheme, targeting victims with fake online identities and fraudulent investment opportunities. Some were also accused of training staff of Genting International Co. Limited in sophisticated scams.
All 192 convictions were secured under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, hailed the move as a major milestone in Nigeria’s crackdown on cybercrime, stressing that the coordinated convictions and deportations send a strong signal to criminal networks seeking to undermine the nation’s financial integrity.
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