The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has raised concern over how foreign cybercrime syndicates exploit vulnerable Nigerian youths, using them as fronts while masterminding fraud from behind the scenes.
Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said this in Abuja on Friday while commending the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for arresting 792 suspects in connection with cryptocurrency investment and romance scams.
Rafsanjani stressed that contrary to global stereotypes, most of those arrested were foreign nationals. The EFCC listed the suspects to include 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two citizens of Kazakhstan, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian.
“The syndicate is believed to have recruited and trained young Nigerians to serve as local operatives, using their identities to mask the activities of the foreign masterminds behind the operations,” he said.
He described the December 10 operation at a seven-story building in Victoria Island, Lagos, as a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime. “It also challenges the prevailing global narrative that disproportionately links Nigerians to internet fraud,” he noted.
Rafsanjani said the arrests proved that cybercrimes were often orchestrated by international actors who take advantage of Nigeria’s youth. “What we see is a transnational criminal hierarchy where foreign masterminds manipulate and discard Nigerian youth after using them to front illegal operations,” he added.
He lamented that such narratives had damaged Nigeria’s international image for years while concealing the role of foreign criminals. “These syndicates prey on unemployed or desperate young people by offering fake job opportunities and financial incentives, only to expose them to criminal risk while remaining in the shadows,” he said.
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Rafsanjani called for increased government investment in youth-focused initiatives, digital safeguards, and cyber-literacy programmes to protect young Nigerians from falling prey to online fraud networks.
He also urged the EFCC to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation that holds all parties, regardless of nationality, accountable.
According to him, lasting progress in combating cybercrime requires collaboration between institutions. “Sustainable progress in combating cybercrime requires strong institutional collaboration among key agencies such as the EFCC, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Customs Service.
Many foreign criminals exploit weaknesses in immigration control to enter and operate in the country illegally. Enhanced immigration screening and proactive enforcement would prevent many of these actors from embedding themselves within local communities,” he said.
