The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukayode, has raised fresh concerns over the growing threat posed by internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys, revealing that a serving judge lost more than ₦7.2 million to scammers in the middle of the night.
Olukayode shared the incident while speaking at the public presentation of two books written by retired High Court judge, Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye.
According to him, he received an emergency call around 1 a.m. from a judge in one of the South-South states after fraudsters emptied her bank account.
He said the judge explained that repeated debit alerts woke her from sleep, only for her to discover that ₦7.2 million money she had saved over six years to fund her child’s education abroad had disappeared.
Olukayode said the judge pleaded with him to intervene immediately.
He recalled that the incident happened in a state where a court had earlier restrained the EFCC from investigating certain financial crimes. Despite this, the judge insisted the commission act quickly.
According to him, the EFCC was able to recover the entire amount before 6 p.m. the same day.
The EFCC chairman said the experience highlighted why financial crimes should never be treated lightly.
“When people become victims themselves, they begin to understand the seriousness of the problem,” he said, adding that such experiences often change public perception of the commission’s work.
He called for stronger collaboration among law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and the public to tackle financial crimes, stressing that only a united effort would significantly reduce internet fraud in the country.
Olukayode also warned that the rise of artificial intelligence presents new challenges for investigators.
He disclosed that the EFCC has already begun using AI-powered tools in criminal investigations but noted that questions remain over how evidence generated through AI can be admitted in court under the current legal framework.
He urged lawmakers and legal experts to review existing laws, particularly provisions of the Evidence Act, to address emerging issues surrounding AI-generated evidence.
Speaking at the event, former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, urged anti-corruption agencies to intensify efforts to recover public funds stashed overseas.
Agabi said billions of naira looted from Nigeria remain abroad, insisting that recovering those assets should be a national priority.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Wole Olanipekun, called for stricter enforcement of cybercrime laws, while the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, said securing convictions would help deter cybercriminals.
The event also featured the unveiling of Electronic Evidence (Second Edition, with the Evidence Act, 2011) and A Compendium of Cases on Electronic Evidence (Volume II, 2020–2025), both authored by Justice Omolaye-Ajileye, and was attended by serving and retired judicial officers, senior lawyers and other stakeholders in the justice sector.
