The Lagos Zonal Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has disclosed that about 140 cybercriminals were arrested in the zone over a period of three months.
He said 38 cybercriminals, including seven girls, were arrested on a particular day during one of the raids in some parts of the state.
Speaking on a radio pragramme, Sadiq and the Guru on Lagos Talks 91.3FM, on Monday, December 14, 2020, Bawa further lamented that cybercriminals were not contributing genuinely to the economy of the country.
According to him, “We have carried out series of investigations regarding computer-related fraud.
“We have done about nine of such investigations around the Lekki area of Lagos.
“ Over a period of three months, we arrested close to 140 cybercriminals.
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“In one of the raids, we arrested 38, including seven girls, who are “girlfriends” of the suspects. But the girls were immediately released after it was established that they were not abetting or aiding their boyfriends in the alleged crime.”
He described the development as “as a huge problem” and charged Nigerians to join hands with the Commission to stamp out internet fraud from our society.
Responding to the allegation that the commission had been thriving on media trial, Bawa vehemently refuted the claim, saying it had always been peddled by people who are ignorant of the modus operandi of the commission.
Bawa, who also frowned on linking the achievements of the EFCC to alleged media exposure, added that “The only place where a trial takes place is in the court.
“We charge people to court, and the court is at liberty to look at what we do. If it agrees with what we have presented before it, it gives judgment in our favour and vice-versa.”