Lagos Court Convicts Nine Chinese Over Cybercrime Offenses [PHOTOS]

Justice D. E. Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced nine Chinese nationals to one year in prison each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.

The convictions followed a major sting operation conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement released on Tuesday via X (formerly Twitter), the EFCC identified the convicts as Li Dong, Deng Wei Qiang, Huang Bo, Xiong Zhen, Lai Rui Feng, Zhao Xiao Hui, Lui Hai Rong, Lui Gang, and Du Ji Feng. The nine individuals were among a larger group of 792 suspects arrested on December 19, 2024, in connection with cryptocurrency investment scams and romance fraud.

The EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 formally charged the accused in February 2025, each facing a count of cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.

The charge read: “That you, Li Dong, Deng Wei Qiang, Huang Bo, Xiong Zhen, Lai Rui Feng, Zhao Xiao Hui, Lui Hai Rong, Lui Gang, and Du Ji Feng, sometime in December 2024 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence, to wit, to cause to be accessed a computer system used for the purpose of destabilising and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27 (1) (b) and punishable under Section 18 (1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.”

Initially, the defendants entered a plea of “not guilty,” but later changed their pleas to “guilty” during a hearing held on June 5, 2025.

During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Nnaemeka Omewa urged the court to deliver a conviction and impose sentencing. The defence counsel did not oppose the request.

Justice Osiagor then sentenced each of the nine convicts to one year in prison, with the term beginning from the date of their arrest, December 10, 2025. In addition, each convict was fined N1,000,000.

The court also ordered the repatriation of the convicts to China within seven days after serving their sentences, directing the order to the Comptroller General of Immigration.

Furthermore, devices including mobile phones, computers, laptops, and routers recovered during the EFCC’s “Eagle Flush Operation” were forfeited to the Federal Government.