The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, has raised concern over the rising involvement of Nigerian university students in cybercrime, stating that about six out of every 10 undergraduates are engaged in internet fraud.
According to Daily Trust on Tuesday, Olukoyede made this known at the 8th Biennial Conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities held in Kano, where he described the trend as alarming and a threat to the country’s future.
“My research in the last one year has shown that about six out of 10 students in our universities are into cybercrime. It is a very disturbing situation,” he said.
He noted that findings from investigations and field operations by the commission revealed that many suspects arrested for cyber-related offences are students, with some allegedly going as far as placing lecturers on their payroll to compromise academic processes.
According to him, the development reflects deeper structural issues within the university system, including weak oversight and administrative vulnerabilities.
The EFCC boss cited a recent operation in Lagos where 792 suspects linked to a transnational cybercrime syndicate were arrested, adding that a significant number of those apprehended were undergraduates.
He said the operation, which was supported by artificial intelligence tools, exposed the scale and sophistication of cybercrime networks operating within and beyond Nigeria.
Olukoyede also expressed concern over the growing trend of “Yahoo Plus,” where internet fraud is combined with fetish practices, warning that the phenomenon poses both moral and security risks.
He called on university authorities and governing councils to take urgent steps to curb the menace by strengthening institutional controls and collaborating with law enforcement agencies.
“A university that lacks financial accountability cannot credibly train future professionals. The integrity of our universities is a matter of national security,” he said.
The EFCC chairman advocated the deployment of artificial intelligence in university governance to improve transparency and detect fraud, noting that many institutions still rely on manual systems prone to abuse.
He said AI tools could be deployed for fraud detection, payroll management, procurement monitoring and safeguarding academic integrity, including identifying irregular payments and suspicious transactions in real time.
Olukoyede added that while the EFCC has begun integrating AI into its investigations, including digital forensics and financial tracking, such technologies should complement, not replace, human oversight.
He further urged universities to invest in digital infrastructure and build capacity in cybersecurity, machine learning and digital governance, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between institutions, regulators and anti-corruption agencies to tackle emerging threats.
Credit: punchng.com
