The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has raised alarms over the infiltration of Nigerian cities by foreign fraud syndicates. He revealed that these organized groups are establishing criminal cells and recruiting young Nigerians into cybercrimes, particularly cryptocurrency-related fraud.
Olukoyede made this disclosure while addressing participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course from the National Institute for Security Studies, led by its Director of Studies, Hyginus Ngele. His remarks were contained in a statement issued by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.
“A new and growing concern is the emergence of foreign fraud syndicates operating within Nigerian cities. These groups have been actively recruiting young Nigerians into cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” Olukoyede stated.
He further revealed that intelligence gathered by the EFCC indicates that some of these foreign fraudsters are also involved in arms smuggling, using cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange.
“In recent special operations conducted in Lagos, we arrested 194 foreigners in the heart of Victoria Island. Among them were Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, Tunisians, and others—all in a single building. Some had no valid visas, and most of their financial transactions were carried out through cryptocurrency,” he disclosed.
Olukoyede noted that several of the arrested foreigners were ex-convicts in their home countries who had fled to Nigeria and other African nations to escape prosecution.
He also questioned the source of arms and funding that sustain banditry and insurgency in Nigeria, emphasizing the need to control the unchecked movement of small arms and light weapons across borders.
Additionally, he highlighted the illegal exploitation of mineral resources by non-state actors, further compounding Nigeria’s security threats.
Olukoyede called for a coordinated national and continental response to curb the activities of foreign fraud syndicates and internet criminals, stressing the link between money laundering and national security.
“All security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and Africa must collaborate to tackle this growing challenge,” he urged.
The EFCC chairman also expressed concerns over nearly two decades of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and farmer-herder conflicts, attributing part of the crisis to the activities of non-state actors.
“We have always suspected the involvement of non-state actors in regions with significant security challenges. In the North-East, for example, some local and international NGOs have been placed under scrutiny. This led to their mandatory registration with the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) and a directive requiring them to report cash movements to the EFCC,” he explained.
Earlier, NISS Commandant Joseph Odama, represented by Hyginus Ngele, commended Olukoyede’s leadership and the EFCC’s role in combating corruption, money laundering, and financial crimes.
He further acknowledged the EFCC’s efforts to expose networks that enable some NGOs and organizations to finance hostile non-state actors, which contribute to instability in Nigeria and across Africa.
