Lagos, Nigeria – In a significant crackdown on cybercrime, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of nine Chinese nationals for offences related to cyberterrorism and internet fraud. The sentences were handed down on Friday, 18 July 2025, by two judges at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The convicts, identified as Deng Wen Quang, Lin Jin, Shi Yang Xiong, Lu Yong Yao, Yang Chen Cheng, Feng Li Cai, Li Niue, Li Kuang Kuang, and Dan Jia (also known as Bu Fan), were arraigned on separate charges bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud. According to the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, the individuals were involved in activities aimed at destabilising Nigeria’s economic and social structures through sophisticated online schemes.
One of the charges levelled against Yang Chen Cheng, for instance, stated: “That you, Yang Chen Cheng, on or about the 11th of December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, wilfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organised to seriously destabilise and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024).”
All nine defendants pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read out in court. In light of their pleas, prosecution counsels M.K. Bashir, Babatunde Sonoiki, and B.M. Isha urged the judges to convict the accused and order the forfeiture of all recovered items.
Justices Chukwuemeka Aneke and Dehinde Dipeolu found the defendants guilty and sentenced each to one year in prison, along with a fine of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira). The court further directed that, upon completion of their sentences, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) ensure the convicts are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days.
Additionally, all items seized from the suspects during the investigation were ordered forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The EFCC highlighted the case as part of its ongoing efforts to combat cybercrimes that threaten national security and economic stability. This conviction underscores the agency’s commitment to prosecuting foreign nationals involved in such activities, often in collaboration with local elements.
