The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed how suspected internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo boys, allegedly stole over N7.2 million from a serving judgeโs bank account in the middle of the night .
Olukoyede said the money represented six years of savings the judge had kept aside to fund her childโs education . He spoke at the public presentation of two books written by retired High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye .
The EFCC chairman said the judge contacted him around 1 a.m. after receiving multiple debit alerts . โShe had just been scammed of the money she had been putting together for six years to send her child to school. She said it was alerts that woke her up. She received debits at that time of the day. Before she knew it, she had been scammed of about N7.2 million,โ he said .
Olukoyede disclosed that the incident occurred in a state where the EFCC had previously faced legal restrictions in investigating certain financial crimes . When he informed the judge of the court order restricting EFCC operations in the state, she replied: โโNo, no, no! This is an exception. You must do something immediately!โโ
According to him, the commission successfully recovered the entire sum before the end of the same day. โBefore 6 p.m., we recovered the entire money for her,โ he said .
Olukoyede noted that the judgeโs experience underscores the importance of the fight against financial crimes: โWhen you become a direct victim, that is when youโll know that something has to be doneโ .