Over the years, cybercrime in Nigeria has been equated to fraud on the internet. It is the only country where an internet crime was attributed to “the Nigerian scam”. A global perspective that Nigerian cybercrimes are only concerned with fraud has influenced the policing and focus of other law enforcement. It is also generally believed that Nigerian cybercriminals have limited skills and are only interested in low-level scams such as romance, inheritance, letter scams, and card fraud.
In the ranking of serious cybercrimes that have occurred worldwide, Nigeria was never rated as a country with the capacity to launch a significant attack. The country is not part of the top 10 countries with most hackers globally, as ranked by Akamai (Cambridge, Massachusetts based cloud platform provider). The country was also not listed in the top 10 cybercrime stories of 2019. Despite the limited perception of the technical ability of Nigerian cybercriminals, they yet remain a significant player in the global cybercrime ecosystem.
Recent trends and events demonstrate the growing sophistication of cybercrime. The industry has evolved towards developing new operation modes that go beyond fraud. Two themes have emerged from the new realities of these developments.
Migration and Organised Crime
As it is well established, Nigerians have migrated to many different countries. As of 2018, there are 205 000 Nigerians born in Nigeria who lives in the U.K. and around 348,000 Nigerians living in the U.S. as of 2017. Other countries such as Malaysia, India, Germany, France, and others have a significant presence of Nigerians. West African countries also have witnessed significant migration based on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) free movement protocol.
Cybercriminals from Nigeria have migrated to all these countries while practicing their criminal enterprise. It has resulted in a sophisticated organised crime structure spanning countries and continents. In October 2018, Nigerian cybercriminals were arrested in Turkey as part of an international syndicate. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. arrested 281 cybercriminals in a Coordinated International Enforcement Operation within which 167 were Nigerians. Some of the arrests were made in Nigeria.
It appears that major cities across Europe and America now host cells consisting of an international syndicate of cybercriminals. In February 2020, a gang of Nigerians living in Portsmouth were sentenced for cyber fraud, making it the second case of Nigerian gang arrests and prosecution in the Portsmouth area. One of the members destroyed a flash drive before his arrest, suggesting that it contained evidence that could have linked the gang to other cells of the broader Nigerian cybercrime organisation. The arrest of Nigerian influencer Ramon Abbas (Hushpuppi) in Dubai is evidence of the migration-oriented expansion of cybercrime by Nigerians.
Ramon Abbas with one of his cars (source: Instagram)
The sudden rise of cybercrime in neighboring countries, including Cameroun, the Benin Republic, and Ghana, has been associated with Nigerian migration. Between 2018 and 2019, hundreds of Nigerians were deported from Ghana because of their cybercrime activity. Nuhu Ribadu (the first chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission) stated that the crackdown on cyber fraudsters in 2004 in Nigeria resulted in a massive migration to neighboring countries by those young Nigerians.
Migration has turned Nigeria’s cybercrime into a hydra-headed monster that continues to evolve into an ever-stronger organised cultured enterprise. Many countries are now experiencing the continued perpetration of these crimes only with a limited ability to either stop or prevent the commission of these crimes.
Cybercrime from Nigeria is prominent and very popular in its fraud orientation. Over time, it has evolved and gradually involved sophistication. Migration has also contributed to cybercrime becoming more organised. These organisations have cells in cities worldwide and a strong partnership between perpetrators in Nigeria and those residing in other countries. Many countries are now struggling to understand Nigeria’s rampant and multi-faceted cybercrime.
Dr Pelumi Apantaku explores the changes in the type of crime as witnessed in established cases worldwide. This is a four-part series that provides an elaborate insight into cybercrime in Nigeria.
