Danger Of Cybercrime To Society -By Olayode Inaolaji

The rate at which cybercrime is rampant in Nigeria has propelled me to pen this article.  If one imagines that Nigeria’s leaders of tomorrow are the ones who believe opulence can only be accumulated through fraud, then, to be frank, the future of this country is winking in red and even imminently in a sorry state.

Youths are desperately in search of swift affluence without wanting to shed a shred of sweat. This has made tons of unserious and myopic Nigerian teenagers venture into cybercrimes, also regarded as Yahoo-yahoo in street lingo.

For the sake of clarification, it is important to provide a crystal definition of internet fraud. According to Wikipedia, internet fraud is conceptualised as “the type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property or inheritance.”

Higher institutions of learning have been metamorphosed to a citadel for the acquisition of illegal ‘yahoo’ knowledge. Expensive cars, luxurious houses, golden necklaces and many other sophisticated materials are possessed by students. As a result, students now wear a toga of pomposity which sincerely may be to the detriment of their excellence in their academic pursuits.

Since when I was young, I have been inculcated with the belief that what will be, will definitely be – que sera sera- irrespective of any barricade that may cross the path to accomplishing it. Destiny has immense control and aspect to play in everyone’s life. The thinking of some modern teenagers is contrary to this. They will want to run, like a horse, faster than their legs.

A number of victims, especially white men, which they usually referred to as ‘clients’, fell into the heartless hand of this set of ‘moral-lacking’ boys and even girls unknowingly. Some victims have been hacked to death as a result of the cunning act or deceit they applied to secure a loan from the victim’s bank without his or her knowledge.

Imagine securing a humongous amount of loan from an individual’s bank without the person knowing anything. This is a show of cold-bloodedness of the highest degree. Put yourself in the shoes of a victim who has been mandated to pay back the money that was borrowed unbeknownst to the person. Nigerian youths who are into fraud are very desperate. And, misfortune, inescapably, awaits them in the nearest future.

It has been speculated that internet fraud is impossible with the exemption of voodoo, spell or charm. Perhaps that accounts for the high abduction for money ritual on a daily basis in Nigeria. Those aiding and abetting them to prepare the spells or charms need to be castigated.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2021 report of internet crime, people lost more than $6.9bn to internet crimes, and a total number of 847,376 internet crime complaints were filed in 2021, which is a 7 per cent increase from 2020.

Added to the rampant cases of cybercrime in the country is the refusal of the government to offer employment to hapless citizens who have graduated from universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. If employment opportunities are provided, the dastardly act will decrease in the community.

However, for youths who do not know, internet fraud is punishable under the law as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is charged with the constitutional duty to curb, foil and nab the perpetrators of internet fraud.

On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, the duo of Ogundijo Olamilekan and Adeniran Tijesunimi were reportedly convicted and sentenced as a result of their involvement in cybercrime. Also, the Benin zonal command of EFCC on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, reportedly secured the sentencing of internet fraudsters namely Harmony Enobakhare and Lucky Osamudiamen. I cite these examples not to make jest of them but to discourage the public from partaking in what is unsavoury, illicit and illegal.

Internet fraudsters have slurred the integrity of our country among the comity of nations.

Fraud is bad, distance yourself from it so as to avoid any form of regret in the end.

Olayode Inaolaji writes via inaolajiolayode@gmail.com