Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibadan zonal office, on Thursday, June 20, swept on hideouts of suspected internet fraudsters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, and arrested 27 suspects among whom were four ladies suspected to be their lady friends.
The Commission said its officials embarked on weeks of surveillance, working on series of intelligence gathered on the activities of suspected ‘Yahoo Boys’ in locations across the city.
The anti-graft agency, via its Facebook page, @officialEFCC, disclosed intelligence was found to be substantially credible, leading to the sting operation, on Thursday.
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Among the arrested suspects are Adeleke Peter, Babalola Abiodun, Aduroja Temitope, Abdulazeez Razak, Adesina Adewale, Osayintoba Dare, Adebowale Fadairo, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, Akinseye Samuel, and Osanyintoba Femi. Others include: Austin Onyekachukwu, Oluwaseun Adesina, Ibosiola Olamilekan, Ayoola Lekan, Abdullahi Owopade, Olatunbosun Kolawole, Saheed Adebola, Osanyintoba Pelumi, Ayo Bello, Samuel Emmanuel, Olalekan Oladele, Solomon Mattew, Oyelude Opeyemi, Quadri Olatunji, Ibrahim Alao, Tunde Bello and Fatolu Temitope.
Eight exotic cars including two Lexus and six Toyota brands, as well as many costly phones and laptops, were among the items recovered in the course of the operation.
The suspects, who variously claimed to be graduates, students, computer engineers, and businessmen, are currently undergoing interrogation to ascertain their level of involvement in the alleged act.
They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
The EFCC said it was worried over the frightening dimension which cyber crime has assumed in the country, especially the South East.
The South East zonal head of the commission, Usman Imam, expressed the worry, on Friday, in Enugu State, while briefing newsmen on the activities of EFCC in the first quarter of 2019.
Imam said that cases of cybercrime, popularly called ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ had become alarming in the zone.
