The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that banks in the country lost over N8 billion to internet fraudsters, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo Boys, in nine months in 2022.
The EFCC Chairman made the disclosure when he spoke with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja at the EFCC’s headquarters.
Olukoyede said cyber crime has hurt Nigerian companies and was having negative effects in attracting Foreign Direct Investments into the country.
He said no fewer than 71 percent of companies operating in Nigeria were victims of cybercrime in 2022, adding that the war against internet fraud by the EFCC was about safeguarding the country’s future.
He said: “In 2022 alone, I’m waiting for the report of 2023, we discovered that more than 71 percent of Nigerian industries, companies and firms fell victim to cyber crime.
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“Now, which country or company would thrive with this kind of thing?
“You want to attract Foreign Direct Investment.
“The moment you come in, Yahoo boys will attack your platform.
“You start losing money and you think they would stay?
“Is that not what we are seeing?
“We are rescuing the future of Nigeria by going into this cyber crime investigation and prosecution.
“Now, within that period, the Nigerian economy lost $706 million via these companies through cyber crime, to the activities of these Yahoo Yahoo boys because we don’t take them seriously, not knowing that we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
“The alarming statistics continued with Nigerian banks losing over N8 billion to electronic transfer fraud in the first nine months of 2022.
“A system lost over N8 billion to a particular scheme of fraud and you are asking EFCC to close its eyes to that kind of situation.
“Are we even fair to ourselves?”
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