EFCC arrests 25 LAUTECH students for internet fraud
Operatives of the Advance Fee Fraud Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 25 students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo state, for involving in various forms of cybercrime including romance scam, love scam, possession of forged documents, and obtaining money through false pretence.
The students, who are aged between 18 and 29 years were arrested at their off-campus hostels, following a three-day raid carried out between September 16 and 19, the anti-corruption agency disclosed.
EFCC operatives according to a statement made available to journalists, acted on intelligence reports, which were investigated using sophisticated equipment. The raid also followed months of surveillance and monitoring of their activities.
They include Pelumi Adigun, (18); Umaru Frederick, (21); Damilola Emmanuel, (22); Tomiwa Oyewole, (29); Adeleke Owolabi, (24); Oladosu Abdullahi, (23); Abdulmusaq Ismail, (25); Isajimi Joshua, (23); Olaniyan Tunde, (22) and Ebosele Francis, 28.
Others are Oladejo Ibrahim, (26); Oluwadamilare Abimbola, (25); Orimoloye Joshua, (23); Alfred Samuel, (22); Bayewu Ishola, (23); Abiola Gbenga, (25); Alfred Daniel, (20); Agboola Solomon, (21); Arolewola Damilola, (25); Amoo Tunmise, (23); Akeem Taiwo, (25); Segun Ajibola, (25); Hassan Segun, (24); Onicha Joel, (23) and Tafa Bassit, 25.
The statement added that Ismail, who confessed to being involved in internet fraud, took operatives round hostels, leading to the arrest of many of the culprits. Some of the suspects attempted jumping over the fence of their respective hostels to escape arrest, but were nabbed in the process.
Some of the items recovered from them, which are believed to be the proceeds of their illegal online activities, include a 4matic Mercedes Benz, a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Corolla, two Macbook computers, two iPads, two iPhones and many other documents, which will be subjected to forensic analysis.
The suspected internet fraudsters, who are currently in the custody of the EFCC, will soon be arraigned in court.
