Over the years, Nigeria’s reputation has been tarnished by crimes allegedly committed by its citizens, both in the country and abroad. But the conviction and sentencing of two Chinese nationals, Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, and An Hongxu, to 46 years’ imprisonment each by a Federal High Court in Lagos on 11th February 2026, has set tongues wagging.
The court said the duo was sentenced for their roles in a multi-billion-naira cybercrime and money-laundering scheme involving Genting International Co. Limited. The judgment, delivered by Justice Daniel Osiagor, gave the convicts the option of a N56 million fine.
He also ordered them to undertake three days of community service and directed that they be repatriated to China after serving their sentences and completing the service. The two were among 792 suspects arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos in December 2024 for Internet and cryptocurrency fraud. It was the EFCC’s largest single-day arrest.
It was gathered that some of these foreigners enter Nigeria, set up companies that later become cybercrime centres. Some of the companies and offices set up by some of these foreigners are not just cybercrime centres; they are part of networks behind global scams.
Transnational nature of cybercrime
In March 2025, Nigerian authorities arrested about 113 foreign nationals in Jahi, Abuja, for cybercrime and money laundering. Reports say 67 of those arrested in Abuja were Chinese, some from Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines. It was gathered that about 5 per cent of the arrested people were from Brazil.
They have been running a pig butchering farm, a specific type of scam that originated in China, an expert says, adding that such scams have spread through Southeast Asia and are now making their way across the world. The expert, a security officer, revealed that Pig butchering, the name of the scam, is a translation of a Chinese term that literally means scam that combines phishing, social engineering, and cryptocurrency.
How they do it, the expert said, “Somebody reaches out to you via WhatsApp, some other messaging app, and tells you, oh, sorry, it was the wrong number. But since you’re there, you get talking. You talk with the person, and over time, they gain your confidence.
“After a while, they ask you, or they tell you that they are rich and they’ve become rich by investing in crypto trading.
“And then they convince you to invest. It always starts small. You invest a little bit, you get a little bit back.
“They tell you that to actually get the whole of your money back, you have to sell the farm.
“You have to go in. You have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars. And then when you invest that money, they slaughter the pig. That means they cut off ties with you,” he revealed.
He said, “You never see the person again. It’s a very popular scam. Usually, initially used to target countries like China, Southeast Asia, and Singapore.”
He alleged that over the last few years, such a scam has spread to the English-speaking world, including Europe and North America.
That’s not all. On 24 May 2025, 18 foreign nationals were also convicted by the Federal High Court in Lagos. On 30 May, 2025, 15 foreign nationals were also convicted in the same court on the same charges of cyber terrorism and internet fraud.
On 19 October, 2025, the EFCC, in collaboration with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), deported 192 foreign nationals convicted of cyber-terrorism, internet fraud, and other related financial crimes in Lagos. Many foreigners have been arrested, while others have been convicted of the same cybercrimes and money laundering offences in Nigeria’s major cities, including Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Edo, and others.
According to reports on the EFCC website, foreign nationals from China, the Philippines, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Timor-Leste have been deported within a year for engaging in internet fraud and money laundering.
A US citizen, Tigran Gambaryan, was also arrested during a business trip to Nigeria in February 2024 and later charged alongside his company, Binance, with laundering $35.4 million. Gambaryan denied the charges, and EFCC, Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, dropped the money-laundering case to allow him to get medical treatment abroad.
Most countries have tightened the noose against Nigerians, and it seems they are not welcome everywhere. In America, they deported so many Nigerians as a result of crimes. And they are prosecuting others for cyber crimes in Europe, in Asia, and other countries, which pundits fear will cause reputation damage. The reputation problem escalated when countries began denying visas to Nigerians due to the alleged rise in criminal activity.
Nigeria’s cybercrime image globally
Many have been speaking, including lawyers and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), that crimes committed by Nigerians are affecting every citizen, especially those who are not involved in the criminal activities that are going on.
However, they complained that crimes committed by foreigners in Nigeria are been seen as an individual thing, no stereotyping. Foreigner’s crimes do not affect their nationals; the stereotyping of Nigerians when it comes to crimes is not good for the country and its citizens.
The CSOs that spoke to this paper included Transparency International (TI), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG). Speaking its leader, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, insisted that a crime is a crime anywhere, adding that anybody who commits criminal activity should face the law.
“If other nationals break the law or commit an offence, they must be taken to court to face their criminal activities,” Rafsanjani said.
According to Rafsanjani, “The ability of our judiciary to administer justice without being compromised is what makes it different from many countries.
“In Nigeria, if you commit a crime, the tendency is that bribery will likely come and water down whatever judgment or whatever sanction that someone will receive.”
Role of the Judiciary in enforcing accountability
Some lawyers who spoke to this paper have commended the Nigerian government for allowing the law to take its course in the arrest and prosecution of 792 foreign nationals accused of internet fraud. According to them, crime is committed in every society in the world; what happens next, or the decisions taken by the authorities after the crime is committed, should determine whether such a society should be taken seriously.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Abdul Balogun, said that whatever negative attraction the cybercrime offence may have had for Nigeria, the arrest and prosecution of foreign nationals have erased such notions. According to him, Nigeria cannot be isolated from the rest of the world because crimes are committed daily all over the world.
He said, “We cannot isolate Nigeria from the rest of the world. Just like any other country in the world, crimes are being committed daily everywhere.
“I think the response of the government of any country to crimes should be what matters and not the magnitude of the offence.
“But again, that does not mean the government should not do everything possible within its powers to prevent crimes in the country,” he said.
Nigerians are actively working to reclaim the country’s reputation. Some Nigerians, not just law enforcement agents, have been working to restore the country’s image.
A constitutional lawyer, Barrister Paul O. Ominuwa, who described the arrest and prosecution of about 800 persons, including foreign nationals, for cybercrime offences as huge, said the government needs to do more.
Strengthening Law Enforcement and Policy measures.
Since the arrest and prosecution of several foreigners for economic, financial, and cyber crimes, the EFCC has been celebrating.
According to the EFCC, these massive arrests and successful prosecutions of foreign nationals for cybercrimes have given investors confidence and sent a positive signal to the international community.
Broader Socioeconomic impacts of the stereotype
EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewole, who spoke with this paper, said things are now changing in the country since the arrest of the foreigners.
“Yes, Nigerians are always blamed, accused, maligned, and blackmailed internationally about all of these internet offences.
“So, this dispensation of getting foreign nationals who are involved in internet crimes is a good omen,” Oyewole said.
Oyewole said, “The world now believes that what is normally called the Nigerian scam is not actually a Nigerian scam. They are foreign actors.”
He said, “These foreign actors, we are unmasking them, we are sending them back to their various countries.
“So, this is going to revive our economy and refocus the reputational damage that we have suffered over the years,” Oyewole said of the economic gains of the war against cyber crimes and money laundering.
Oyewole disclosed that people are now beginning to see the truth about Nigeria.
“Nigeria is not a fraudulent nation, and internet fraud is mostly perpetrated by foreigners. You know, we arrested 792 foreign actors. That’s a big message we’ve sent,” Oyewole stated.
He said, “Out of the 792 people arrested that day for cyber crimes, 182 of them were foreigners.
“And these last two Chinese, they are the last set of people that are repatriated to their various countries for cybercrimes.
“So, this arrest, prosecution, and repatriation is going to make the international community know the truth and the reality of internet offences in Nigeria and the involvement of foreign actors,” he said.
Due to the high level of poverty in Nigeria, foreign actors target job-seeking Nigerians to recruit them into their networks. These networks are dangerous because they fuel high-level, sophisticated hacking syndicates. Experts say severe cyber security syndicate groups arrested in Abuja alone have damaged the nation’s digital economy and driven away foreign direct investment.
It was gathered that these transnational cybersecurity groups working with local collaborators utilise advanced techniques. They used phishing, ransomware, and have also been linked to human trafficking and forced labour. With the increasing network of cybercrime in Nigeria operated by foreign nationals, in 2025 alone, reports say over 20,000 data breaches were recorded.
Some of the areas that faced these breaches include hacking bank accounts, identity theft, application hacking, and hijacking social media accounts. In 2024, SurfShark, a digital security outfit, reported over 5.5 billion data breaches worldwide, while Nigeria leads Africa in cyberattacks. Nigeria ranked fifth globally in cyberattacks, after Russia, Ukraine, China, and the USA. Convicting foreigners for crimes in Nigeria may slightly tarnish the country’s reputation.
Experts say it is unlikely to fundamentally shift perceptions of Nigeria due to insecurity, economic conditions, and corruption. Experts say factors that will influence Nigeria’s good reputation include the consistent application of the law and a reduction in kidnapping and other crimes.
Since reputations change over time, the EFCC, the Police Cyber Crime Centre, and Interpol should step up the prosecution of suspects, as the arrest and prosecution of a single case cannot completely change global perceptions of Nigeria.
