The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for its arrest of 192 foreign nationals allegedly involved in a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment and romance scam network.
EFCC arrested the suspects during a raid on December 10, 2024, at a seven-story building in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The suspects include 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two citizens of Kyrgyzstan, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian.
The anti-graft agency said the syndicate is believed to have recruited and trained young Nigerians to serve as local operatives, using their identities to mask the activities of the foreign masterminds behind the operations.
Speaking on the development, CISLAC’s Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, applauded the EFCC’s efforts and professionalism.
He said the arrest “underscores the Commission’s dedication to tackling cybercrime at the highest level and proves that these crimes are often orchestrated by international actors who exploit vulnerable Nigerians for their schemes”.
According to CISLAC, the raid is a major breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime in Nigeria.
The civil society organisation challenged the prevailing global narrative that disproportionately links Nigerians to internet fraud.
Rafsanjani added that the operation debunks the harmful stereotype that Nigerians are the main perpetrators of cybercrime. “What we are seeing is a transnational criminal hierarchy where foreign masterminds manipulate and discard Nigerian youth after using them to front illegal operations,” he said.
