The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has labelled the Lekki area of Lagos State as the hotbed of cybercrime in Nigeria.
In a statement on Friday, September 3, the antigraft agency said a total of 402 suspects have been arrested in the last three months.
“Lekki, the fast-developing upper-middle-class area of Lagos Metropolis, is emerging as the new hub of internet-related fr*ud. Data from the investigation activities of the Lagos Command of the EFCC, for the second quarter of 2021, indicates that Lekki District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.
Between April and June, 2021, the Advance Fee Fr*ud and Cyber Crime Sections of the Command recorded a total of 402 internet-related fr*ud arrests. While the Advance Fee Fr*ud Section was responsible for 243 arrests, the Cyber Crime Section executed 18 sting operations which resulted in 159 arrests, from which 13 convictions have so far been recorded.
Of the 159 suspects arrested by the Cyber Crime Section, 70 are from Lekki, comprising communities such as Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru.
Ajah accounted for 24 suspects, while Oniru and Sangotedo had 14 and 13 suspects respectively. Badore had 8 suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic had 2 and one suspect each. Ikorodu and Alagbado on the Lagos Mainland make up the remainder.
The suspects are mostly millennials, with 82 of them aged between 25-34 years, which speaks to the fact that most of the individuals arrested are either still in school, recent graduates or university drop outs,” the statement reads.
