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Six in 10 Nigerian students involved in cybercrime, EFCC boss reveals
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Six in 10 Nigerian students involved in cybercrime, EFCC boss reveals

From Vanguard · (10m ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stated that approximately 60% of Nigerian university students are involved in cybercrime.
  • This alarming trend was revealed during a conference on university governance and artificial intelligence.
  • The EFCC chairman cited structural problems within universities, including weak oversight, and the rise of "Yahoo Plus" (cybercrime combined with fetish practices) as contributing factors.

The chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has sounded a grave alarm regarding the pervasive involvement of university students in cybercrime, estimating that a staggering six out of every ten undergraduates are engaged in illicit online activities. This revelation, made at the 8th biennial conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria (COPSUN), paints a deeply troubling picture of the nation's youth and its educational institutions.

Olukoyede attributed this disturbing trend to systemic failures within the university system, pointing to inadequate oversight and a lack of robust accountability mechanisms. The EFCC's recent operations have seen a significant number of students arrested for cyber fraud, with some allegedly implicating lecturers in their schemes, thereby compromising academic integrity. The emergence of "Yahoo Plus," a disturbing fusion of internet fraud and fetish practices, further exacerbates the problem, highlighting a worrying descent into darker forms of criminal activity.

My research in the last one year has shown that about six out of 10 students in our universities are into cybercrime. It is a very disturbing situation.

— Ola OlukoyedeOla Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), expressed his deep concern about the high prevalence of cybercrime among Nigerian university students.

This crisis extends beyond mere financial crime; Olukoyede stressed that the integrity of Nigerian universities is a matter of national security. He called for strengthened institutional controls and enhanced cooperation between universities and law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, he advocated for the strategic deployment of artificial intelligence in combating fraud, managing payrolls, monitoring procurement, and upholding academic integrity, suggesting that technological solutions are crucial in addressing this multifaceted challenge.

A university that lacks financial accountability cannot credibly train future professionals. The integrity of our universities is a matter of national security.

— Ola OlukoyedeOlukoyede emphasized the critical link between institutional integrity and the quality of education, stating that a university's lack of financial accountability compromises its ability to produce competent professionals and poses a national security risk.
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Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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