Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has raised concern that about six in every 10 university students in Nigeria are involved in cybercrime.
He made the remark yesterday at the opening of the 8th biennial conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria (COPSUN), held in Kano.
The theme of the event was: “Unlocking the potentials of artificial intelligence: University governance, internationalisation and rankings”.
The EFCC chairman said recent field operations by the commission revealed widespread involvement of undergraduates in internet fraud and related offences. He said, “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”.
Olukoyede blamed the development on what he described as deep-seated rot within the university system, including weak oversight and poor accountability mechanisms.
According to the EFCC boss, many of those arrested in recent cybercrime operations were students, some of whom allegedly placed lecturers on payroll, thereby compromising the integrity of the academic system. He also said a significant number of the 792 suspected cyber fraudsters arrested in Lagos in December 2024 were students, adding that the operation exposed the scale of cybercrime networks operating in the country.
Olukoyede further decried the growing trend of “Yahoo Plus”, whereby suspects combine internet fraud with fetish practices. He urged university authorities to strengthen institutional controls and deepen collaboration with law enforcement agencies to curb the menace. “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 boss also advocated the deployment of artificial intelligence in areas such as fraud detection, payroll management, procurement monitoring and academic integrity.
Olukoyede said AI tools could help flag suspicious transactions, identify irregular salary payments and improve auditing processes in real time, adding that the EFCC had already begun deploying AI in its investigations, including digital forensics and financial tracking.
