Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has convicted 1,968 out of the 2,669 convictions secured in 2022.
Gatekeepers News reports that the EFCC said the convicted numbers which amount to over 73 per cent, were cybercrime-related.
According to the Commission, cybercrime-related convictions range from fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, and internet fraud to other financial impropriety carried out within public and private sectors in the country and outside Nigeria.
According to documents obtained by City Round, 1,968 cybercrime convicts were involved in various forms of internet fraud, ranging from identity theft, phishing, malware attacks, and bank fraud vishing to credit card scams, among others.
This follows protests by some youths in Ughelli, Delta, and Ibadan, Oyo states, suspected to be involved in internet fraud. They alleged clampdown by operatives of the EFCC.
In 2021, the Commission announced that as of September, 80 per cent of its 978 convictions were connected to cybercrime-related offences.
The anti-graft agency, while stating that the rise in cybercrime activities in the country was alarming and worrisome, said it resolved to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the tackling of the menace.
EFCC noted that cybersecurity experts believe that financial damages and losses could reach $6tn at the end of the year, adding that studies had shown that cyber attacks were among the fastest-growing crimes across the globe.
Deloitte’s ‘Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook 2022’ revealed that Nigeria was ranked 16th among countries most affected by Internet crime in 2020, according to the Federal Bureau of investigation.
In August this year, the EFCC in collaboration with the US Department of Justice held four-day training on cybercrime and crypto-currency investigation for its operatives to counter cybercrime.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, also decried the menace, noting that the rising cyberattacks in the country had caused more economic, social, and cultural harm than good.
It said, “Cyber attacks cause the country to lose about $500m yearly to cybercrime.”
