Federal High Court sitting in Lagos state of Nigeria has found guilty 15 Chinese citizens, 2 Philippines and one Pakistan national for cyber-terrorism, hence the court sentenced them to one year imprisonment and ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service to facilitate the deportation of the convicts immediately after they completed their various jail term.
Details of the report as presented by the Public Relations Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC reads verbatim below:
Court Jails 15 Chinese, 2 Filipinos, 1 Pakistani for Cyberterrorism, Internet Fraud in Lagos
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday June 19 and Friday, June 20, 2025, secured the conviction and sentence of 15 Chinese, two Filipinos and one Pakistani for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud before Justices Chukwujekwu Aneke, Ayokunle Faji and Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos
The suspects are: Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Long Long, Zhang Hua Zhai, Lin Hao Bo, Chen Fusheng, Chen Dong Dong, Wang Gong Lin, Pan Cai Yu, Huang Ren Jian, Zhang Xiao Lei, Khurram Shahzad, Chen Yuan, Wu Yong An and Chen Xin.
The suspects were arraigned on separate charges bordering on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Caselyn Pionela, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
They all pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to them.
In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Spiff Owede, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Chinenye Okezie, Ebuka Okongwu, B.M Isah and Nambam Mutfwang respectively prayed the court to convict the defendants and also order the forfeiture all the exhibits recovered from them.
The judges found them guilty of the charges and convicted them accordingly.
All the convicts were sentenced to one year imprisonment, with a fine of ₦1,000,000.00, (One Million Naira).
The judge also ordered that upon completion of their sentences, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, should ensure that they are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days.
The judge also ordered that the items recovered from them be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convicts are among the 792 suspects arrested by operatives of the EFCC for alleged cyber-terrorism. They were charged to court and jailed.
EFCC Arraigns Fake Bureau De Change Operator in Lagos
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, arraigned one Abdulkarim Auwalu before Justice A.O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Auwalu was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on operating bureau de change business without an appropriate licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The petitioner alleged that he was approached by some unknown persons on the phone with a business proposal for investments in the defendant’s business and other related businesses in Nigeria.
The proposal allegedly involved the injection of about $10,000,000.00, (Ten Million USD Dollars) into the defendant’s science and hospital equipment business.
It was also alleged that in the course of facilitating the transmission of the boxes containing the $10,000,00.00, (Ten Million USD Dollars), the purported agents of the defendant kept presenting demand notices for the payment of various amounts of money from the nominal complainant under the guise of meeting statutory charges for the clearance of the said boxes containing the money to his Kano office address.
Investigation revealed that Auwalu made cash payments, rather than using a financial institution.
One of the counts reads: ”That you, Abdulkarim Auwalu, sometime within January and April 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, without a company duly incorporated in Nigeria, failed to obtain a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry on your business of Bureau De Change and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Sections 57(5) of the same Act.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charge preferred against him .
In view of this, the prosecution counsel, A.A. Usman, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional Centre.
The defence counsel, Abdulqadir Wodi, however, informed the court of a pending bail application, which he sought to move.
Responding, Usman told the court that he had not received the bail application.
He was, thereafter, served in the open court .
Justice Owoeye remanded the defendant in the Correctional Centre and adjourned till July 1, 2025 for the hearing of the bail application.