EFCC to help FBI fish out Nigerians indicted in $46m fraud in US - Magu
- EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, said the commission will work with the FBI to investigate Nigerians indicted in a $46 million fraud case in the US
- Magu said the home based-Nigerians who collaborated with the ones in the US will be made to face the full wrath of the law
- The EFCC chief, however, said the FBI has not reached out to the commission over the fraud case
The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, says the commission will collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the Nigerians indicted in a $46 million fraud case in the United States.
The fraudsters, majority based in Nigeria, were, according to FBI, involved in a series of coordinated internet scam obtained from victims in the United States and other parts of the world.
The American security agency on Thursday, August 22 said 14 of the suspects had been arrested while the remaining defendants were “believed to be abroad with most of them located in Nigeria.”
Following the release of the names of all the Nigerians indicted in the fraud case, ThisDay newspaper, citing anonymous sources on Friday, August 23, said the EFCC boss met with a select team at the headquarters in Abuja, to strategise on how to arrest the Nigeria-based members of the fraud syndicate.
Meanwhile, speaking at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja also on Friday, Magu reportedly confirmed that the agency had commenced investigation into the matter.
He said the commission was investigating to ascertain the involvement of Nigerians who collaborated with the ones indicted in the US.
“We will investigate it and we will leave no stone unturned. We will go after those who collaborated with the ones in the US and they will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” Magu was quoted to have said.
The EFCC boss noted that the commission was collaborating with the FBI in two operations notably Operation “Wire-wire” which commenced in 2018 and Operation “Rewire” presently ongoing, both aimed at containing cybercrime. He said the joint operation involved Malaysia, Canada, Indonesia and the United States.
“We work with FBI in Lagos. We carried out operation wire-wire and the FBI mentioned in their press statement that we are one of the agencies working with them and it was successful,” he said.
“But to come out with the list of these 77 Nigerians is very unfortunate. Meanwhile, it is not that we are not doing anything here; we are working and re-energising to storm their hideouts. We’ll also cooperate with our partners. Last time, we were in Ghana because when the heat was on them, most of them were operating from Ghana. We’ll cooperate with our partners to check the menace of Yahoo Boys because it is a borderless crime because you cannot do it alone. So, I’m happy that the Americans participated in the operation," Magu added.
The EFCC chief also urged the media to sensitise Nigerians about the menace of internet fraud. He lamented that the situation is worrisome as some parents have now allegedly formed an association soliciting for the release of arrested fraudsters.
He said: “I also want the media people to help us tell Nigerians because some people don’t still believe that the activities of these Yahoo Yahoo Boys are still strong. We have a situation where we have Mothers of Yahoo Yahoo Association, I don’t know whether you’ve heard of that. Whenever we arrest their children, they’ll gather around our offices pleading for the release of their children. So, I want you to help us sensitize Nigerians so that people will frown at the menace of 419.
“When you go outside this country, the search exercise they subject you to the moment they realise you are a Nigerian is humiliating. So, if we don’t address this and allow the activities of the 419ers to resume, it will be bad.
“For us at the EFCC, we’ll continue to cooperate with both within and outside Nigeria to stop this menace. I want you to give us information and we’ll raid all their hideouts.
“We’ll cooperate with other stakeholders and other law enforcement agencies in this country and outside the country like the FBI and the NCA and other law enforcement agencies in the neigbouring countries to make sure we deal with this issue.
“We will also deal with any Nigerian who connive with other Nigerians just like this to defraud. We are on the watch-out, we will not leave any stone unturned.”
The US government and the FBI, however, have not contacted the EFCC over the fraud.
“We have not been contacted but they have acknowledged our participation in their release. I don’t have the details now in respect of the arrest,” Magu said.
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Similarly, Legit.ng reports that the federal government has also called on the Nigerians among the 80 persons indicted by the US for fraud to turn themselves in or risk being extradited.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, said she hoped those indicted will be given a fair hearing.
Dabiri-Erewa said though such action may have negative effect on the image of the country, it does not represent the action of all Nigerians.
She said: “We acknowledge the fact that accusation does not mean guilt, and we hope that all the accused will be given fair and speedy trial.
“We also ask those accused in Nigeria to voluntarily turn themselves in, to American authorities to clear their names, without which the Nigerian government would extradite them if relevant international treaties between the two governments are invoked.
“While such actions ultimately have negative effect on the image of the country, the commission, however, reiterates as it has always done, that the actions of a few Nigerians involved in criminal activities are not and can never be what the majority of Nigerians represent."
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Source: Legit.ng
