Nigeria has deported 102 foreigners including 60 Chinese nationals and 39 Filipinos convicted of “cyber-terrorism and internet fraud”, its anti-corruption agency said Thursday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had said in an earlier statement that 50 Chinese were among the latest deportees, which included a Tunisian.
The agency’s spokesman Dele Oyewale later told AFP that another 39 Filipinos, 10 Chinese and two Kazakhstanis had also been repatriated since August 15.
More deportations were scheduled in the coming days, he added.
EFCC released pictures of Asian men wearing surgical face masks, lining up at airport check-in counters.
The deportees were among 792 suspected cybercriminals arrested in a single operation in the affluent Victoria Island area of Lagos last December.
At least 192 of those arrested were foreign nationals, of whom 148 were Chinese, the EFCC said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has a reputation for internet fraudsters known in local slang as “Yahoo Boys”.
The EFCC has busted several hideouts where young criminals learn scamming skills.
According to the agency, foreign gangs recruited Nigerian accomplices to find victims online through phishing scams. The attackers typically try to deceive victims into transferring them money or revealing sensitive information such as passwords.
The scams target mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans.
Experts also warn that foreign “cybercrime syndicates” have set up shop in the country to exploit its weak cybersecurity systems.
By Agencies
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