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Claim: A Facebook user shared an image claiming it depicts Nigerian hackers recently arrested as part of a major police operation involving 113 foreign nationals suspected of cyber fraud in Nigeria.
Verdict: Misleading. The image does not show suspects from the recent operation in Nigeria. DUBAWA traced the image to a 2022 report detailing the arrest of a Nigerian scammer in India, not Nigeria.
Full Text
Nigeria continues to battle cyber fraud, as many youths turn to “get-rich-quick” schemes involving online theft. In response, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has actively been on the lookout, arresting those identifying as “Yahoo boys.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has also apprehended suspected fraudsters during their operations.
This issue has extended internationally, affecting Nigeria’s reputation. Recurrent cyber fraud cases involving foreign nationals have created a negative perception of Nigeria abroad. Unfortunately, this image has impacted Nigerians, complicating international relations and travel.
On Nov. 3, 2024, the Nigeria Police Force executed a major operation leading to the arrest of 130 individuals suspected of cyber fraud and hacking. Among those detained were 113 foreign nationals, predominantly Chinese and Malaysian, and 17 Nigerians. This operation took place in a building in Abuja.
Following this, on Nov. 11, 2024, a Facebook user, @FunmiStella, posted a summary of the recent arrest of foreigners in Nigeria on charges of cyber fraud. Alongside the post, the user shared an image showing ten men with packaged phones in front of them, captioned “Nigerian Hacker arrested.”
While the post hadn’t attracted much engagement when reviewed, the image stood out due to discrepancies. It showed fewer individuals than the 130 arrested, and the men did not appear to match the profiles of the predominantly Chinese and Malaysian suspects involved in the operation.
These inconsistencies prompted DUBAWA to make additional investigations, anticipating that the post could gain traction and potentially mislead viewers.
Verification
Starting with media platforms that had reported the arrests, DUBAWA checked these outlets but could not find any image that matched the one used in the Facebook user’s post. See detailed reports here, here, and here.
We then analysed the image using Google Lens, which traced the image back to an article published on “The 420” platform on April 1, 2022. This report detailed the arrest of a Nigerian national, Paul Churchill, by cybercrime police in Uttar Pradesh, India. Churchill was apprehended for defrauding women on popular matrimony websites such as Shaadi.com and Jeevansaathi.com. Posing as a successful bachelor named Yogendra Jain, he used fake profiles to deceive individuals searching for marital partners.
In one instance from February 2022, a woman from Noida reported being scammed after Churchill claimed he’d visit India to meet her family but was detained at the airport with unaccounted cash. An accomplice, pretending to be an airport official, pressured her to transfer Rs 1.07 lakh to facilitate his release.
Police tracked Paul Churchill’s activities through digital records, ultimately locating him in Delhi. Investigators found that he used fake SIM cards and forged documents to create multiple accounts, complicating detection. Churchill reportedly acquired his hacking skills from online tutorials and books and is believed to have amassed over Rs 57 lakh through various fraud schemes. His arrest has prompted Noida police to investigate potential accomplices and explore connections to a broader network of Nigerian gangs involved in cyber scams across India.
Conclusion
The image shared on Facebook with reports of the recent arrest of 113 foreign cyber fraudsters is unrelated to the incident. DUBAWA traced it back to a 2022 report about a Nigerian scammer arrested in India.
