Tension as suspected Yahoo boys kill EFCC officer, injured another in popular south east state

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 7 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

Onitsha, Anambra state - Suspected Internet fraudsters, known as Yahoo boys, have killed a yet-to-be-identified officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Onitsha, Anambra state.

The Yahoo boys opened fire on EFCC operatives, killed one, and injured another officer of the anti-graft agency.

The police have commenced an investigation following the tragic incident. Photo credit: @NigeriaStories
Source: Twitter

It was gathered that other persons around the scene sustained varying degrees of injuries as they scampered to safety due to the unexpected gunshots.

According to The Punch, the incident occurred on Friday, January 17 when the EFCC officers were ambushed.

The EFCC operatives travelled from the zonal headquarters in Enugu to arrest a group of suspected cyber criminals.

The deceased EFCC officer is reported to be an assistant superintendent and had recently completed a promotional examination.

The deceased identity is being withheld pending official notification of his family.

A source near the scene narrated how the Yahoo boys attacked the officers of the anti-graft agency.

The source who spoke on condition of anonymity said:

“The incident happened this morning(Friday). The suspected Internet fraudsters suddenly opened fire on the EFCC operatives, on noticing their presence.“In the process, they shot one officer dead instantly, while another who was critically injured was rushed to a nearby hospital and still remained in critical condition at the hospital as of Friday night.”

The State Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the command has commenced an investigation following the tragic incident.

“Investigation into the sad incident is ongoing. The suspect is in custody while the arm has been recovered.“Further details shall be communicated, please,”

Legit.ng recalls that Hope Payment Service Bank is reportedly seeking to retrieve over N6 billion fraudulently removed from its account by suspected internet fraudsters, known as Yahoo boys.

A report says that the money was transferred out of its platform by yet-be-identified cybercriminals.

NIBSS report showed that financial institutions lost over N3 billion to fraud in the first three months of 2024

EFCC set to go after “Yahoo boys” in Nigeria

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it is ready to support the effort to combat internet scams.

This came after hundreds of fraudulent Nigerian Instagram and Facebook accounts were removed by Meta.

The social media giant removed almost 63,000 fake accounts last summer because they were linked to the growing fraud issue.

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Source: Legit.ng