Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 30 suspected cyber fraudsters in a sting operation at the Kwara State University, KWASU, Malete.
The suspects, the commission noted, were arrested following actionable intelligence on their alleged involvement in internet-related fraud activities.
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EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, revealed this in a statement on Monday, adding that the action followed weeks of surveillance on the suspects.
According to him, part of the intelligence indicated that suspected internet fraudsters were operating in campuses around the Ilorin metropolis to swindle unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned income.
“Based on the intelligence, and weeks of surveillance, operatives of the Commission on September 19, 2021, executed a search warrant in hostels within the KWASU campus, where a number of arrests were made.
“In the course of interrogation, those found not culpable were released to the Students Union Government (SUG) of the School, while the targets of the sting operation were brought to the Ilorin Zonal Command for further questioning”, he noted.
He added that some of the items recovered from them include six exotic cars, several laptops, mobile phones and other incriminating documents.
He said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
‘Not the making of KWASU’
Reacting to the development, the Director of Information, KWASU, Mr Razaq Sanni, told Daily Trust that those arrested have cultivated the habit of indulging in cybercrime before being admitted.
“This is not the making of KWASU but an attitudinal behaviour they brought from home. The affected students were arrested at the off school hostels.
“But with the regime of the new VC, the decision to have all our students in the school-managed hostels will be implemented soon after the completion of our campuses for proper monitoring of their activities.
“We believe that with this and the sensitization we are doing together with the SUG leadership, the problem will be reduced to the barest minimum if not eradicate,” he said.
The commission, before the latest development, had stepped up its activities against cybercriminals in the state.
About 20 suspects have been convicted by the anti-graft body in the last few weeks in Kwara State with many cases still in court.
To this end, the commission recently raised the alarm that over 70 per cent of the youth in the country may become ex-convict with the current trend.
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