The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed how suspected internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys, allegedly stole more than ₦7.2 million from the bank account of a serving judge in the middle of the night.
According to Olukoyede, the money represented six years of savings the judge had set aside to fund her child’s education.
Speaking at the public presentation of two books authored by retired High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, the EFCC chairman said the judge contacted him around 1 a.m. after receiving multiple debit alerts, Vanguard reported on Friday.
“She had just been scammed of the money she had been putting together for six years to send her child to school. It was the debit alerts that woke her up. Before she knew it, about ₦7.2 million had been withdrawn,” he said.
Olukoyede said the judge immediately appealed to the commission to intervene and recover the stolen funds.
He noted that the incident occurred in a state where the EFCC had previously been restrained by a court order from investigating certain financial crimes.
“Incidentally, it happened in the same state where an injunction had been obtained against the EFCC from investigating certain crimes,” he said.
“She said, ‘No, no, no! This is an exception. You must do something immediately.’”
According to him, the commission recovered the entire amount before the close of business that same day.
“Before 6 p.m., we recovered all the money for her. I am sure that if any application comes before her seeking to stop the EFCC from carrying out its mandate, she will dismiss it because she has now become a victim herself,” he said.
Olukoyede said the incident underscored the growing threat posed by cybercrime and stressed that tackling it requires a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and the public.
“Only when all stakeholders work together will we be able to overcome this challenge. Nigeria can do it, and we will succeed,” he said.
The EFCC chairman also highlighted the increasing use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigations, calling for urgent legal reforms to address emerging issues surrounding AI-generated evidence.
“We have already started deploying AI tools in crime investigations. The challenge now is how to generate admissible evidence from AI,” he said.
He urged lawmakers and legal scholars to develop an appropriate legal framework to guide the use of artificial intelligence in Nigeria’s justice system.
Also speaking at the event, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), called on the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies to intensify efforts to recover public funds allegedly looted and stashed abroad.
