BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
THE EFCC is the primary government agency responsible for enforcing laws against internet fraud and other financial crimes. It has the authority to arrest, investigate, and prosecute individuals involved in cybercrimes like internet fraud.
Additionally, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), particularly through its National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC), also plays a crucial role in combating internet crimes, including Yahoo- Yahoo. While the EFCC and NPF are the main bodies saddled with this responsibility, other agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the State Security Service (SSS) have also been involved in efforts to combat cybercrimes in the past.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) equally plays a role in cybersecurity through its regulatory role of internet service provision and combating cybersecurity threats within the telecommunications sector.
Pursuant to its mandate, the EFCC has recorded numerous arrests, convictions, and recovered assets relating to cybercrimes. Just recently, the EFCC arrested 23 youths at a cybercrime training centre (Yahoo-Yahoo Academy) in Abia State, identified as Hustle Kingdom. This is just one out of several such arrests in different parts of the country.
A similar arrest was made by the EFCC in Calabar, Cross River State, penultimate month, where 13 youths were apprehended at a Yahoo-Yahoo training school. Items recovered from them included three exotic cars, 31 mobile phones, and five laptops.
In another sting operation, on June 23, 2025, operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC arrested 34 suspected internet fraudsters, all of whom are youths, at Iworoko in Ekiti State. Items recovered from them included several exotic cars, laptops, and a large number of mobile phones. On March 14, 2025, the EFCC arrested 30 youths in Asaba for alleged involvement in internet-related fraud.
The above cases, juxtaposed with the rise of the ‘’Yahoo-boys subculture in Nigerian Universities, highlight the growing problem of internet fraud among youths and the government’s efforts to combat it. From Abuja, the nation’s seat of Governance, to the 36 states of the federation, the story remains the same.
There have been several collaborative efforts between higher institutions of learning, students’ leadership and the EFCC to sensitise students, through seminars, workshops and symposia, on the dangers of indulging in internet fraud.
Speaking recently at a one-day symposium themed ‘’Safe Campus for Students: Combating Physical and Digital Threats’’, organized by the National Association of Nigerian Students, Joint Campus Council (NANS JCC), Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in Edo State, the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede warned Nigerian students against engaging in internet fraud or ‘’Yahoo-Yahoo’’, describing it as a pathway to misery and gnashing of teeth; not a shortcut to wealth. He admonished students to shun all forms of criminality, including internet fraud,
Nigerian youths will require a multi-faceted approach that would include the re-engineering of training and guidance protocols, public awareness campaigns, promotion of ethical behaviour among youths, and collaboration with various stakeholders. While the government would have to step up its efforts through its regulatory and enforcement agencies, it should also create job opportunities and fashion out ways to meaningfully engage the ever-increasing youth population.
Nigerian university authorities and other higher educational institutions should intensify their efforts and fine-tune their strategies to curb Yahoo-Yahoo indulgence on their campuses through various measures, including enlightenment campaigns, stricter regulations, and collaborations with law enforcement. These efforts should aim to raise awareness among students on the dangers of internet fraud, while promoting responsible digital behaviour.
Inasmuch as society, educational institutions, social media influencers, government, and peer groups share in the blame game, parents should take much of the blame. It is, therefore, high time parents started teaching their children contentment and hard work; upscale their efforts in moral values impartation; monitor their children’s online activities; and checkmate questionable acquisition of wealth, particularly in this era where social media is more involved in raising children and moulding their character and values than parents.
The step taken recently by the father of Ola, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary 1 (SS1) student, alleged to be into Yahoo- Yahoo, who drove his newly purchased Mercedes-Benz SUV to his family compound, is commendable. The visibly alarmed father not only chastised him sternly, but ordered him to return the car to the seller because, according to him, there was no explanation that could be sufficient enough to justify how his 15-year-old son, who is still in secondary school with no source of income, could buy such an expensive car.
While Ola’s father was still in the process of scolding him, his friends in the neighbourhood, who had gathered to celebrate with him on what they considered a great achievement, were hailing him and urging him not to listen to his father. Some were even begging him to share the ‘update’ with them on how to ‘’cash out’’ the way he did. This goes to demonstrate the level to which societal and family values have been eroded, but also the hunger in our youths to acquire quick wealth through whatever means possible. stressing that its indulgence might deliver wealth in the short run, but ultimately, there will be misery, shame, disgrace, and gnashing of teeth. He called on youths to shun Yahoo-Yahoo, as it is not a sustainable way of life.
The role of parents in checkmating the Yahoo-Yahoo phenomenon does not seem sterling enough by a long shot. While some parents are doing their utmost to caution, model and inculcate the right moral values in their children, many are complacent. Some of them encourage their children to go into internet fraud. They condone the nefarious lifestyle of their children and do not question them when they exhibit stupendous and sudden wealth from out of nowhere.
Societal trappings, including social media influence, peer pressure, and economic hardship, have combined to downplay parenting efforts in this part of the world. Poverty and survival instincts have become so overwhelming in many Nigerian homes that some parents have thrown hitherto cherished values to the dustbin. It is such that they no longer bother much about what their children do, so long as they can get by and put food on the table.
While some parents take strong exception when they see their children displaying sudden wealth without any meaningful source of income, cases abound of parents who borrow money to enrol their children in Yahoo-Yahoo training centres where they learn how to scam people through the internet. In those centres, they are taught how to scam potential victims and fleece them of their hard-earned money by providing false or misleading information and exploiting social media dynamics to manipulate their emotions.
