Seven Chinese nationals jailed for cyberterrorism, internet fraud in Lagos
A Federal Excessive Court in Lagos on Friday convicted and sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 1 365 days imprisonment every for their involvement in cyberterrorism and internet fraud linked to an enormous Ponzi design uncovered in December 2024.
The convicts — Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Lengthy Lengthy, and Zhang Hua Zhai — had been arrested all the procedure via a raid conducted by the Economic and Monetary Crimes Charge (EFCC) on a constructing located on Oyin Jolayemi Side freeway, Lagos, the set up over 700 suspects had been apprehended.
They had been individually arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, and Justice Yellim Bogoro.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC arraigned the defendants on separate one-count prices bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
For the duration of the proceedings, EFCC prosecution team, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Chineye Okezie, and Banjo Temitope knowledgeable the courts that the defendants had entered into plea chop price agreements, which had been filed on June 20, 2025.
Upon arraignment, your complete defendants pleaded guilty and confirmed that they voluntarily consented to the plea chop price.
In consequence, the court docket convicted and sentenced every of them to 1 365 days in penal complicated and a beautiful of N1 million.
Additionally, the court docket ordered that, upon completion of their penal complicated terms, the Comptroller-Fashioned of the Nigerian Immigration Carrier (NIS) ought to guarantee that their deportation to their respective house worldwide locations interior seven days.
The amended one-count read in court docket acknowledged that the convicts, in December 2024, “willfully accessed computer systems organized to destabilize and rupture the basic financial and social structure of Nigeria by recruiting Nigerian youths to commit identification theft and impersonate a long way off places nationals for monetary assemble.”
The offence is contrary to and punishable below Part 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Part 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.
