The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, says about six out of every ten students in Nigerian universities are involved in cybercrime. He made the disclosure on Tuesday at the 8th Biennial Conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Kano.
Mr Olukoyede described the trend as disturbing, citing findings from EFCC investigations and operations which show widespread involvement of undergraduates in internet fraud. He added that many suspects arrested in recent operations were students, some of whom allegedly compromised academic systems by placing lecturers on their payroll.
He also referenced a major operation in Lagos where 792 suspects linked to a transnational cybercrime syndicate were arrested, noting that a significant number were students. The EFCC chairman expressed concern over the growing trend of “Yahoo Plus”, involving the use of fetish practices alongside internet fraud.
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Mr Olukoyede called on university authorities to strengthen governance systems and adopt artificial intelligence tools to improve transparency, detect fraud and enhance accountability. He urged closer collaboration between institutions and law enforcement agencies to tackle the problem.
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