Nigerian anti-corruption officials have arrested 792 people, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipinos, in a raid on a luxury office building in Lagos that investigators say was a hub for romance and cryptocurrency scams. The crackdown, described as the largest of its kind, targeted what is known locally as a “Yahoo boys” operation, a term derived from the free email service Yahoo, which was once used by fraudsters to run their schemes.
The raid took place at the Big Leaf Building on Victoria Island, where authorities uncovered a massive call centre operation. The suspects, most of whom are Nigerian nationals, were allegedly involved in online fraud, targeting victims primarily in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The fraudsters operated through social media and messaging platforms, using fake romantic relationships to lure victims into sending money for non-existent cryptocurrency investments and other scams.
Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated that the foreign individuals, including Chinese and Filipino nationals, were recruiting and training local Nigerians to engage in online phishing operations. Once the Nigerian suspects gained the trust of their targets, the foreign scammers would take over the task of defrauding them.
The raid followed months of surveillance and uncovered computers, phones, cars, and large quantities of SIM cards used in the fraudulent activities. Several suspects were seen waiting in the car park as they were detained and transported into custody.
“This operation underscores President Tinubu’s commitment to fighting corruption and criminal gangs in Nigeria,” Uwujaren said. The crackdown on such scams comes amid rising concerns over online fraud, which has become more prevalent and sophisticated due to social media and online dating platforms.
Romance fraud, where victims are deceived by fake online relationships, is one of the most common scams. In the UK, reported cases of online fraud rose 20% last year, with many victims too embarrassed to report their losses. British pensioner Christine Brown, 71, travelled to Nigeria last year to recover £20,000 stolen from her by a scammer posing as a famous American entertainer.
The EFCC’s operation is part of broader efforts to address the growing prevalence of online scams originating from Nigeria. Uwujaren emphasized that the majority of the arrested suspects were unaware of the larger operations they were working for, often paid in cash or through personal accounts, and were not aware of the international criminal networks behind the scams.
