Foreign fraudsters recruit young Nigerians, smuggle weapons into country — EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised concerns over organised foreign fraud syndicates recruiting young Nigerians and using cryptocurrency to facilitate illegal arms importation.

EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made the disclosure in Abuja while addressing participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course at the National Institute for Security Studies. He revealed that the commission recently uncovered criminal cells operated by foreign syndicates across Nigerian cities.

“Another dimension that is not given attention is the discovery, recently, that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into serious organised cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” Olukoyede said.

He further stated that investigations suggest these criminals are involved in smuggling weapons into the country.

“We are beginning to see the likelihood—the propensity—that a lot of these people are into the illegal importation of arms into the country using cryptocurrency as a means of payment. And this is an area that must interest all of us,” he added.

According to Olukoyede, a recent EFCC operation in Lagos resulted in the arrest of 194 foreign nationals from countries including China, the Philippines, Eastern Europe, and Tunisia. He noted that many of them lacked valid visas and had prior criminal records in their home countries.

“Some of the foreigners we arrested were already ex-convicts in their countries. Some of them have been convicted and escaped from their countries and found a safe haven in Africa, not only Nigeria,” he stated.

The EFCC chairman also expressed concerns over the prolonged activities of bandits and insurgents in Nigeria, linking them to the unchecked flow of small arms across borders and the illicit exploitation of mineral resources by non-state actors.

He called for stronger collaboration among security agencies at both national and continental levels to curb organized cybercrime and money laundering, warning that these activities pose serious threats to Nigeria’s security.