No fewer than eight Chinese Nationals have been sentenced to one-year jail term each by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, over cyber terrorism and internet fraud.
As disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the convicts were arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke by the anti-graft agency’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
The Chinese nationals who were found guilty and convicted by the judge on Friday include Pan Cai Qi, Zeng Xian Tao, Weng Mao Rong, Wang Xiong Wei aka Xiao Bai, Shi Dong Fu, Wang Shi Long, Liu Ke Fan and Ting Liao.
According to the EFCC, they are among the syndicate of 792 alleged cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud suspects arrested on December 19, 2024 in Lagos during a sting operation tagged ‘Eagle Flush Operation’ conducted by EFCC operatives.
They were arraigned on separate charges bordering on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Pan Cai Qi, sometime in December 2024 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourabe Court, willfully caused to be accessed computer system for the purpose of destabilizing and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024]”.
They initially pleaded “not guilty” to the charges preferred against them. However, during Friday’s sitting, they all changed their “not guilty plea” to “guilty.”
In view of this, prosecution counsel, M.K Bashir, prayed the court to convict them accordingly.
Justice Aneke convicted and sentenced all the defendants to one year imprisonment, with a fine of N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira).
The judge also ordered that upon completion of their sentences, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, should ensure that they are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days.
Justice Aneke ordered the forfeiture of the items recovered from them to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
