from OKORO CHINEDU in Lagos, Nigeria
LAGOS, (CAJ News) – SEVEN girls said to be girlfriends of suspects are among some 140 people arrested for cyber crime in Nigeria in the past three months.
However, the girls were immediately released after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) established that they were not abetting or aiding their said boyfriends in the alleged crimes.
EFCC is seeking the prosecution of the rest of the individuals.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Lagos Zonal Head of the EFCC, said the arrests followed series of investigations regarding computer-related fraud.
Most of the investigations were around the affluent Lekki city of the state
“Over a period of three months, we arrested close to 140 cybercriminals,” Bawa said.
He denied claims by some critics that the commission was conducting trials through the media.
It is alleged in some quarters that this is to smear political opponents.
“We charge people to court,” Bawa said.
“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.”
Internet fraud is rife in Nigeria, the West African country that is the biggest economy in the continent.
It is largely blamed on university graduates struggling to secure jobs.
– CAJ News