Kwara emerges as ‘Yahoo Boys’ capital as EFCC arrests 134 fraudsters in March

As the scourge of internet fraudsters popularly called Yahoo Boys continues to steal headlines, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 134 internet fraudsters in March. This was according to data made available by the Commission and crunched by Technext.

Per the data, Kwara emerged as the Yahoo Boys capital of Nigeria with 37 internet fraudsters arrested across the state in March. This represents 27.6 per cent of the total arrests during the month. Not far behind is Delta, which recorded 30 arrests during the month, representing 22.4 per cent of the total.

EFCC operatives arrested 23 internet fraudsters in Akwa Ibom as the state emerged third with 17.1 per cent, while Bauchi followed closely behind with 21 arrests representing 15.6 per cent.

Plateau recorded 14 arrests, representing 10.4 per cent, while the FCT, Abuja, emerged last on the board with 9 arrests and 6.7 per cent of the total.

The EFCC also arrested 161 Ponzi Scheme operators in March. The FCT, Abuja witnessed the highest number of arrests in this category with 133 while Niger state is next with 28 arrests.

Similarly, the commission was able to secure the convictions of 83 internet fraudsters during the month under review. 46 of those convictions were in Edo state, which leads to a number of convictions. Oyo followed with 32 convictions, while Borno and Kwara states followed with two convictions each. Akwa Ibom took the rear with one conviction.

Sentences from the convictions range from a minimum of three months in prison to as much as four years. Fines went for as much as 500,000 naira to as low as N30,000. Interestingly, a lot of the jail sentences came with options to be let off the hook with a fine. Thus, of the 83 Yahoo Boys convicted, at least 34 ended up in jail.

This calls into question the severity of these punishments and whether they serve as punishment enough to deter the guilty from engaging in future attempts. This is especially so considering that many of the Yahoo Boys have stolen way more than the fine imposed.

Asked how the judges arrive at these sentences, which many may interpret as slaps on the wrist, Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Francis Saint Paul, said it’s all down to a plea bargain:

“Most times, what the EFCC does is plea bargain. They must have agreed with the accused person that if you plead guilty, this is what we are going to recommend to the judge. Maybe a lesser sentence with the option of a lesser fine. Someone who did Yahoo and got maybe 500,000 or 1 million, it would be unfair to sentence them to 5 years imprisonment, which is the maximum sentence for internet fraud. Sometimes the judges still give some of these judgments a human face. So if this person has shown remorse and pleaded guilty, the judges can consider all those things.”

EFCC recovers cash, gadgets from Yahoo Boys

Items recovered from the arrested fraudsters by the EFCC include 81 smartphones, 24 laptops, 29 cars, 6 million naira, and $400.

Similarly, 10 fraudsters either convicted or arraigned in March 2025 stole a. total of N209,247,897. According to the numbers, the total sum stolen includes 205,957,479 in naira, and 2,070 in dollars (which amounted to N3,290,418).

The bulk of the funds were stolen by Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal, a husband and wife team who allegedly impersonated the Katsina State First Lady, stealing N197,750,000 through their gimmick. The EFCC arraigned them alongside two others at the Kaduna State High Court.

Another curious case was that of two brothers, Chimdi Godson Izuogu and Chidera Precious Izuogu, who were arrested, arraigned and convicted in Maiduguri. The brothers stole about 8.2 million in naira, according to EFCC data. Each brother was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and the option of 100,000 naira.

See also: EFCC arrests fraudster that buys bank account details for N25,000