The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has said the commission secured 3,175 convictions and recovered N156,276,691,242.30 between May 29, last year and yesterday.
He regretted the involvement of youths in internet fraud, saying the development has continued to pose serious concerns to every stakeholder in the anti-graft war.
Olukoyede spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during the launch of Zero Tolerance Club at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja).
Speaking through the commission’s Secretary Mohammed Hammajoda, the EFCC chairman said the anti-graft agency also recovered some foreign currencies from suspects.
He listed the foreign cash seizures as $43,835,214.24, £25,365.00, €186,947.10, ₹51,360.00, C$3,750.00, A$740.00, ¥74,754.00, R35,000.00, 42,390.00 UAE Dirhams, 247.00 Riyals and 21,580,867,631 Crypto Currency.
Olukoyede said: “In spite of this commendable performance, the commission is deeply worried about the increasing involvement of young people, including students, in cybercrime, popularly called yahoo yahoo. Hundreds of suspects are arrested monthly with many of them ending up in jail.
“There is no justification that will make yahoo yahoo acceptable. Contrary to the impression in some quarters, being a fraudster is not synonymous with creativity or being smart.
“As students, you are expected to channel your creative energies into useful engagements and not get entangled in cheating others of their resources.”
The EFCC chairman advised students of the university to stay away from internet fraud.
