On December 16, 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission reported the arrest of 792 suspects linked to romance scam syndicates. The group included 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakhs, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian and their Nigerian accomplices. MUHAMMED LAWAL visited the residence and discovered that the suspects trained and paid their Nigerian accomplices to perpetrate fraudulent activities
The road leading to the building where 193 foreign nationals suspected of Internet fraud and their Nigerian accomplices were recently apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is a smooth, well-tiled path.
After stepping into the bustling area of the complex, where the constant honking of buses and hurried commuters created a symphony of chaos, efforts by our correspondent to obtain details about occupants of the building and what kind of business they did there were met with cold indifference.
Passers-by also offered nothing more than dismissive glances as they ignored questions.
After what seemed like an endless journey through the maze of streets, a security guard finally came to the rescue, asking what this reporter wanted.
Seizing the opportunity, Saturday TheNigerian explained the situation, and the guard agreed to help as more residents spoke about the scam happening at the company.
Foreigners pay Nigerians for scam
The security guard, who gave his name only as Ahmed, said the building was rented for five years, adding that the foreigners had only spent three months before they were busted.
He mentioned that the suspects most times remained indoors except when they had something important to do.
Ahmed said, “The day the EFCC raided the building, they came with over 30 buses. The people arrested were taken inside white buses. The Chinese people are teaching the blacks Yahoo (fraud) and they pay them N300,000 monthly and N80,000 weekly. They also give them food. They operate on a shift basis. Some work in the morning, afternoon and night.
“The building was leased for five years to the owner of the organisation. They’ve only spent three months before they were arrested. After the day they arrested them, the EFCC was around again to pick up others. I feared the EFCC that night; they were just too focused. Everywhere was intense. On the day of the raid, the suspects peed on themselves. The EFCC blocked the two entrances.”
The guard concluded that the EFCC operatives left the security men guarding the building because they were innocent.
A trader along the street where the foreigners’ office was located and some customers, who were engaged in a conversation by our correspondent, confirmed that Nigerians who worked with the foreigners were being paid accordingly.
A customer in the trader’s shop added, “These people pay well. One of those people who worked there was paid N100,000 for a 10-day work with accommodation. Imagine what kind of job can pay this amount.”
A security guard working in the building, who identified himself only as Ola, said the suspects also paid the feeding allowance of their recruits.
“They sack people there anyhow and I don’t know the specific name of the company. What brought many people here was the good pay. Even if they sack anyone, they still pay the person,” he added.
My ordeal in EFCC custody – Suspect
The residents also added that on the day of arrest, EFCC officers fired tear gas canisters which affected a lot of people.
“People who are outside fainted because of the tear gas let alone people inside,” a witness stated.
Saturday TheNigerian gathered that one of the Nigerian suspects had been released.
The suspect, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that some representatives of the Chinese embassy sent food to them in detention.
He said, “When they’ve not released some people, it was one plate of rice for four people.”
He added that the Filipinos ate once, adding that they were depressed.
“But they’ve contacted their embassy,” he added.
On how he survived in custody, he said, “The EFCC carried out a smooth operation. An EFCC officer asked me what work I do. I told her I was a dispatch rider. She held my phone and checked it.
“I told her my mum bought the phone for me and she asked about my mother’s work. I told her she was a trader selling food items. She didn’t stop searching for my phone. She called another officer to check my phone. She tried to check my iCloud and so on. But she later stopped as she couldn’t operate my phone.”
He added that his friend was still in the custody of the EFCC.
“We can’t make calls there. We were going to the toilet to make calls and we put our phones somewhere they couldn’t find them,” the released suspect stated.
Our correspondent observed that people were avoiding the building as passers-by had to stand somewhere else to talk.
A senior source with the EFCC said the matter was under investigation, adding that operatives were exploring different angles.
According to her, the anti-graft agency needed to determine the immigration status of the suspects and their criminal records in their countries.
“It is a multi-level investigation with many angles. We did not just conduct the raid and we are not holding them illegally. We recovered very incriminating documents from their office showing they were into romance scams,” the source added.
The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, said investigation was ongoing into the matter.
“They were not into crypto as it is being said in some quaters. We will update the media at the end of our investigation,” he added.
