‘Students leaving class by 12pm to scam in Hotels’: EFCC laments fraud surge in Ekiti

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised concerns over the growing involvement of young people, including secondary school students, in internet fraud in Ekiti.

The development has also sparked reports of an association of parents of young people allegedly involved in internet fraud, popularly known as “Iya Omo-ologo”, in parts of the state.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, an indigene of Ikere-Ekiti, said some teenagers were abandoning their studies to engage in internet fraud and pursue quick wealth.

“If you go to the secondary school that I attended now, sir, by 12 noon, the students have left school. You see them in hotels, in groups, trying to scam people. You see secondary school students driving vehicles.

“Is that the nation we want to build? Now, sir, let me tell you the most dangerous aspect of it. It’s not just about Yahoo Yahoo. Nigerians should know this. Some of them are into banditry. We have evidence. We have proof. Some of them are into kidnapping,” Olukoyede told newsmen.

Olukoyede also alleged that some internet fraudsters were being used to launder funds, including money allegedly linked to politically exposed persons.

He said, “When they steal government money in billions now, they give it to all these boys. They open cryptocurrency wallet, crypto wallet and they put the money there. From there, the money goes abroad.”

The EFCC’s activities in Ekiti have, however, generated concerns among some hotel, lounge and entertainment business operators who claimed that patronage had declined since the commission commenced operations in the state.

But the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, dismissed claims that the commission was harassing legitimate businesses.

“We don’t harass, and we don’t intimidate. We don’t do night operations. Our officers are professionals; they know what to do.

“We are in Ekiti State to help businesses grow. We are there to ensure that every threat to lawful businesses is removed. There is no way our activities can negatively affect legitimate businesses,” Oyewale said.

Oyewale said law-abiding business owners had nothing to fear from the commission’s operations.