- Agency Report
Some Lagos-based lawyers have called for urgent steps to curb internet fraud known as ‘yahoo yahoo’ in Nigeria.
The lawyers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in interviews in Lagos that increase in the activities of internet fraudsters had become alarming and disturbing, adding that many young people erroneously took the practice as lawful.
They urged the Federal Government to take proactive measures to combat the menace.
A social critic, Mr Spurgeon Ataene, said it was regrettable that there appeared to be applauding of the crime from some members of the public.
According to him, some people seemed to be excited when “yahoo boys”, with no verifiable means of livelihood, suddenly emerge with exotic cars.
He noted that cyber criminals specialised in cajoling unsuspecting and hardworking people, especially foreigners, to part with their wealth.
He expressed dissatisfaction that some members of the society had become enthralled by their displays.
“In parties, homes, schools and even churches and mosques, yahoo boys hold sway; their reckless and endless show of spending now make even the younger ones to believe it is a norm,” he said.
Ataene called for urgent review of the Cybercrime Act to work against such activities.
“Landlords should be given the right to inspect what their tenants do when there is suspicion that such accommodations are used for practices not in tandem with what the tenants signed in their tenancy agreements,” he said.
He also urged the need for a policy directing that anyone found spending an amount in excess of one million Naira at an occasion should be made to declare his assets.
Ataene said that failure to declare such assets should attract sanctions.
“Again, anybody below the age of 25 with such stupendous wealth, which makes it look meaningless to be gainfully employed, and who has no concrete evidence of the kind of work he does, must have such money confiscated by the state,” he added.
He urged the government to set up monitoring teams to verify why students left school and roamed places, luring other young people to refrain from schooling and hard work.
Ataene urged the government to provide jobs and basic amenities, without which, he said, some young people might be lured into crime.
“Laws alone or their amendments are not enough; implementation is the most important aspect of legislation,” he said
A member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Mrs Adaobi Fortune, said that it was more disturbing that yahoo boys transformed into ritualists.
According to her, these people are often termed “Yahoo plus,” which indicates that they have gone a step further to include blood rituals in their quest for quick wealth.
“It is advisable for governments to install security cameras at perceived notorious locations where these boys execute their activities,” she said.
Another Lagos-based lawyer, Dr Yemi Omodele, said that the country had adequate laws relating to cybercrime prevention.
Omodele said that enforcement of the laws should be strengthened.
“We have laws to address any crime challenges in Nigeria, but our problem is enforcement and judicial interpretation or intervention,” he said.
He said that although amending the laws would be a welcome development, ensuring diligent enforcement of the laws would be more important.
“The Cybercrimes Prohibition Act has the capacity to address all the challenges, but our law enforcement agencies are not doing their best,” Omodele said. NAN