How Yahoo Boys Stole N7.2m From Serving Judge Overnight, EFCC Boss Reveals

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed how suspected internet fraudsters, commonly known as “Yahoo boys,” hacked into the bank account of a serving judge and withdrew more than N7.2 million in a midnight cyberattack.

Olukoyede disclosed the incident while speaking at the public presentation of two books authored by retired High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye.

According to him, the judge reached out to him around 1 a.m. after receiving multiple debit alerts indicating that substantial sums had been withdrawn from her account.

He said the stolen funds represented savings the judge had accumulated over six years to support her child’s education.

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“She contacted me around 1 a.m. and said her account had been cleaned out through a series of debit alerts,” he said.

“She had just been scammed of the money she had been putting together for six years to send her child to school,”Olukoyede said.

The EFCC boss disclosed that before the judge reached out for assistance, the fraudsters had successfully withdrawn about N7.2 million from her account.

He noted that the incident occurred in a state where the anti-graft agency had been restrained by a court order from investigating certain financial crimes.

Recalling the judge’s appeal, Olukoyede quoted her as saying: “No, no, no! This is an exception. You must do something immediately!”

He said the commission immediately swung into action and succeeded in tracing and recovering the stolen funds within hours.
“Before 6 pm, we recovered the entire money for her,” he said.

Olukoyede said the incident underscores the growing threat posed by cybercrime, stressing that many people only appreciate its impact after becoming victims.

“When you become a direct victim, that is when you’ll know that something has to be done,” he stated.

The EFCC chairman called for stronger collaboration among law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and members of the public to combat cybercrime more effectively.

He also urged the National Assembly and legal experts to review Nigeria’s legal framework to accommodate the use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigations, noting that existing laws pose challenges to the admissibility of AI-generated evidence in court.

“I wish our legislators and professors of law will take time and come together to look at this area and come up with laws that will help us in the area of AI,” Olukoyede said.