A 17-year-old boy who was hacked BVN of the chairman of the Economic Financial Crime Commission, Ola Olukoyede, will be interrogated in the chairman’s office.
The Chairman of the anti-graft agency made this story known last Tuesday in a chat with some editors at the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
The Chairman, Olukoyede, confirmed that he witnessed the young boy effortlessly bypassing his computer’s security measures right in his presence when the young hacker was called for questioning in his office.
Olukoyede said, “I brought into my Lagos office a seventeen-year-old boy who is studying History and Anthropology. He is in the 200 level. He is not doing anything science-related. The guy sat in my office in Lagos and demonstrated some things to me on my laptop.
“He asked for my number, I gave him my number, and through my number, he got my BVN. He then mentioned the name of my account number to me and the bank. I didn’t tell him anything.”
The chairman suggested that the country employ all necessary means to discourage young individuals from meddling with such matters, as their actions could lead to imprisonment or any other fatal punishment.
“The problem is, I see crime in that, and I also see opportunities in it. So, if you leave these guys, we don’t make them know that what they are doing is wrong. If you leave them, they will continue to see it as a way of life to make money.”
He also asserted that because of their age, the EFCC had administered light sentences to punish young people for their cybercrimes while also helping them find opportunities by giving them the proper orientation.
“We plead for light sentences to reorientate them, and that’s part of what we’re doing. What joy will I derive from sending a 17-year-old boy to jail? You have destroyed his future. You have destroyed his career.
“Sometimes they give them options of fines and all of that conviction, so we bring them in, lecture them and talk to them.”
The chairman narrated the boy’s bold demonstration of skills. He confidently told Olukoyede that he could comfortably make 10 million naira from any account with a single transaction.
In his words, he said the 17-year-old boy, when he was done, said, “Look, oga, I can make 10 million now. I will demonstrate it to you. I will move money from your account to mine.
“I said no, don’t do that in my office, and he was ready to do it. When he opened my laptop, I didn’t give him the key to my computer and he had access.
When the boy was questioned about how he started cybercrime, he explained that his parents were mere farmers and could not continue working on their farms for some reason.
“He has two younger ones. One is in JSS2, and the other is in SSS2. He is the one feeding his parents and responsible for paying tuition for his younger ones.
“I saw a Bill Gates in that guy.”
The EFCC chairman promised to take full responsibility for the boy’s family if only he would stop the criminal act.
“I told my family, we are going to do that. I spoke to one of my friends, who is also ready to help take up the schooling of the SSS 2 guy. So I’m still looking for someone to take up the one for the JSS 2 sibling.”
EFCC has always been in the business of rehabilitating convicted Internet fraudsters with a tender sentence.
While speaking at the National Association of University Students in March 2024, he said, “When you think deeply, that tag ‘ex-convict’ is not a good thing. You can never tell where you will find yourself tomorrow, and they will want to profile you and discover that you are an ex-convict.”
“So, it is even in the interest of the youth that the EFCC is doing what it is to prevent them from indulging in the heinous act of cybercrime.”
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