Cybercrime is prevalent in tertiary institutions across the country. Sadly, it leads to other unethical practices including murder and rituals. It also affects the image of the country abroad.Nevertheless,the earlier drastic actions are taken, the better for the nation at large. CALEB IJIOMA reports.
As cybercrime keeps gaining ground especially in our tertiary institutions, the effects are worrying. It leads to other criminal acts like murder, theft and all. The craze for quick money among students is shocking,thus, many of them continue to face the wrath of the law.
The spate of cybercrime
In 2021, Nigeria had 108.75 million internet users. The country is topping the table of internet users in Africa. This figure as provided by Statistica is projected to grow to 143.26 million internet users in 2026. The benefits of using the internet are enormous, however, many have leveraged it to commit crimes and perpetuate all kinds of evils. Cybercrime is popularly referred to as ‘Yahoo Yahoo’.
The ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ business, formerly known as cyber fraud in Nigeria’s cybercrime law, is not a new phenomenon in the country. The illicit business, mostly perpetrated by young men and sometimes women, is an offshoot of the so-called ‘419’ business of the 1980s and 1990s.
The 419 code is derived from a section of the country’s Criminal Act Section 419 (Advance Fee Fraud) which frowns at obtaining money from people through pretence or impersonation, cheating, falsification, counterfeiting, forgery and fraudulent representation of facts.
Cybercrime has become a worldwide phenomenon eating deep into the country. In a recent FBI report, Nigeria was ranked 16th globally among countries most affected by internet crime. This is saddening.
Cyber criminals use technology to commit malicious activities on digital systems or networks with the intention of stealing sensitive company information or personal data and generating profit. They engage in fraudulent electronic mails, pornography, identity theft, hacking, cyber harassment, spamming, Automated Teller Machine spoofing, piracy and phishing.
Some of these cyber criminals are high school graduates and even students. Many address themselves as ‘yahoo boys’ connoting their pride in engaging in this illicit act.
The rise of cyber criminals in our tertiary institutions
In 2021, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, disclosed that more than 2.1 million students are currently studying in Nigerian universities.
Campus Life however discovered that several institutions in the country have turned into an abode for these criminals, with more than 50 students arrested for different cyber crime involvement.
In March 2021, a final year student at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Adigun Oladapo Oludele, was sentenced to one year in prison for offences bordering on internet fraud. Properties recovered include a Lexus vehicle, phones, wristwatches, money; all these were forfeited to the Federal Government.
On July 27, 2021, a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, jailed three undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State University, and Kwara State Polytechnic to various jail terms having found them guilty of various offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The students convicted were Abubakar Abdulbashit Opeyemi, a final year student at the University of Ilorin, Alimi Abiodun, and Idowu Rasaq Olarewaju, who were students at the Kwara State University, KWASU, Malete and Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin. These students were found guilty of offences bordering on love scam and internet fraud.
In August 2020, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested four students at the University of Port Harcourt for their alleged involvement in Internet fraud. The students were identified to be Prince Hyacinth, Rex Emadifie Oghene, Odili Ifeanyi, and Uduak Williams.
On September 19, 2021, Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arrested 30 suspected cyber fraudsters in a sting operation at the Kwara State University, KWASU, Malete. Some not found culpable were later released. Six exotic cars, several laptops, mobile phones and other incriminating documents were recovered.
In October 2021, 29 Ladoke Akintola University of Technology students were arrested by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for cybercrimes. 25 LAUTECH students were equally arrested in 2019 for alleged internet fraud.
Also, in January 2022, Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced a 24-year-old KWASU student, Alonge Toyib Alao, to one-year imprisonment for alleged cybercrimes and possession of illegal cash.
Last month, two students of the Kwara State University, (KWASU), Malete, Animasahun Rokeeb Mayowa, and Lawal Alamin Tewogbola were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms by Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin over offences bordering on alleged cyber fraud.
From cybercrime to ritual killings
Cyber criminals have stepped up their game in search of illicit wealth. The “Yahoo Yahoo” business has degenerated to ritual killings, cutting the head and other body parts of humans to make money.
In December 2021, a suspected ‘Yahoo boy’, simply identified as Osas, allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Elohor Oniorosa, for money ritual purposes. He was said to have slaughtered his girlfriend in Egor area of Benin metropolis.
In September 2021, a female student at the Niger Delta University (NDU), Amassoma, Deborah Emafridom, was rescued from her suspected Yahoo boy lover while he attempted to behead her for money rituals along Setraco Road in Ogobiri Community in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Also in November 2021, a student at Osun State Polytechnic Iree, identified as Wumi, died after being reportedly used for money ritual by her boyfriend. She was a National Diploma 1 student at the Department of Mass Communication.
Early this year, Jennifer, a student at University of Jos, Plateau State was murdered . The eyes of the deceased were removed and other parts mutilated by the suspect, her supposed boyfriend.
Students on the prevalence of ‘yahoo’ crime
Agbaje Temilade, a student at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), knocked parents for not paying enough attention to their children. She also noted that peer pressure was responsible for cybercrime.
“Most times it is peer pressure, the type of friends they move with. They are not contented with what they have. Sometimes parents can be the cause. Parents send their wards off to school without proper funding. Parents also pressure kids comparing them to their mates. They ask when they would start making money. Social media is also another factor to cybercrime,” she said.
Oluwapelumi Olagija, a student at Ekiti State University (EKSU), said the feeling of independence led students to be involved in cybercrime.
“I hate assumptions but I strongly believe taking up responsibilities got them into this whole thing. They wanted to take responsibility without being pressured, it’s not easy to be a male child. I’m not saying cyber crime is good but limited resources make the majority of them to be involved in cybercrime.”
Ogunleye Ayomide , a student at Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic (AAP), said students see cybercrime as the easiest way to fend for themselves,thus they get involved.
His words: “We know it is a criminal offence to engage in cyber crime, but on the contrary why do we think they do it? I feel like things are not in good shape in the country and they feel like the easiest way to fend for themselves and family is doing that. Most students doing it in tertiary institutions are footing their own bills, their parents can’t even afford to send them to school. It is bad but it seems to be a source of help to most of them.”
A recent graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Oshoniyi Mojetoluwa, said that students engage in cybercrime due to lack of contentment.
“People do it for many reasons, some do it due to lack of contentment and peer pressure. Although I know a couple of people who engage in it, I even have friends among them. It’s not good and it has consequences too. They want more, and after getting it, they ask for more. If a huge amount of money is obtained illegally, you will always seek illegal ways to earn more.” she said
Authorities not doing enough to end cybercrime
A Lagos-based lawyer, Festus Ogun, said there should be serious efforts on the part of the authorities to put an end to cybercrime. Ogun said cybercrime had endangered the future of the country and youths who engage in cybercrime are “on a lone path to destruction”
“There is no will on the part of the authorities partly because those who should implement the law themselves ought to be put on trial for financial and other cyber- related crimes. Cybercrime further exposes the future of our country to danger. A country whose youths take pride in cybercrimes, in place of hard work, is on a lone path to destruction.
“The chunk of the duty lies with the authorities. And the authorities, for many reasons, are indeed not committed to putting an end to cyber crimes in this country,” he said.
He said that school management can go ahead to make policies, rules and regulations that are in tandem with the cybercrime Act 2015, to underscore their commitment to end cybercrime in schools and in the country.
“Absolutely, school management can go ahead to make policies, rules and regulations that are in tandem with the cybercrime Act 2015. That shows that they are equally showing commitment to put an end to cybercrime in this country. If we do not, as a matter of national urgency, put an end to cybercrime, then the future of our country is in danger,” he said.