Fifteen foreign nationals, including 11 Filipinos, were sentenced in Nigeria on Friday for their roles in a cybercrime operation described as one of the largest of its kind in the country.
The convicted individuals—who also include two Chinese citizens, one Malaysian, and one Indonesian—each received a one-year prison sentence and were ordered to pay a fine of one million naira (around $630), according to a statement by Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They were found guilty of cyber-terrorism and internet fraud after admitting to recruiting young Nigerians to commit identity theft and pose as foreigners in online scams.
“The judges also ordered that the devices recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria,” Oyewale said.
Nigeria has long grappled with a widespread reputation for online fraud, often perpetrated by so-called “Yahoo Boys”—a term locally used for internet scammers. But authorities say the issue now goes beyond domestic borders, with international crime syndicates operating from within the country.
The EFCC noted that these foreign-led groups are luring Nigerians into phishing schemes that target unsuspecting individuals in North America and Europe. Victims are tricked into sharing sensitive personal details or transferring funds under false pretenses.
Just months earlier, the agency arrested 792 people in a sweeping crackdown in Lagos’ upscale Victoria Island, with nearly 200 foreigners—mostly Chinese nationals—among those detained. Trials for many of those suspects are still ongoing.
