"Senior Yahoo-Yahoo": Pundit Demands EFCC Name Corrupt Officials Before Criminalizing Nigerian Students

Public affairs commentator Mahdi Shehu has pushed back sharply against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), calling out what he described as a sweeping and potentially damaging claim against Nigerian university students.

In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, Shehu criticized EFCC Executive Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede for alleging that roughly 60 percent of Nigerian university undergraduates are involved in online fraud, commonly known as "Yahoo-Yahoo." He argued the declaration could cause lasting harm to innocent students.

"How did the EFCC arrive at this sweeping conclusion?" Shehu asked. He demanded that the anti-graft agency make its methodology public and back the allegation with verifiable data.

"They need to publish the result of the research, study or findings," he said.

Shehu also called on the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to formally challenge the claim. "NANS must challenge this spurious claim because it is damaging to their future and integrity, especially those who are innocent," he said.

Beyond that, he argued that any credible conversation about fraud must include those at the top. In his view, the EFCC cannot claim the moral high ground on cybercrime while politicians and public officials accused of corruption continue to walk free.

"For the picture to be complete, EFCC should publish the names of politicians, civil servants and other public officers who have been convicted or are under investigation," he said.

He suggested that Nigerians would then be in a better position to weigh what he called "adult Yahoo" against "juvenile Yahoo." His argument, essentially, is that selective prosecution undermines the credibility of any anti-fraud campaign.

Shehu further charged that attention continues to fall disproportionately on young, low-level offenders while high-profile fraudsters remain untouched. He said it is difficult to take enforcement seriously when those he referred to as "Senior Yahoo-Yahoo" openly flaunt their wealth without consequence.

"As long as SENIOR YAHOO-YAHOO continue to parade their stolen wealth in public without shame and repercussion, for that long EFCC must stop deceiving himself and stop disturbing the Yahoo-yahoo boys who are nothing but 'GOOD STUDENTS' aspiring for DISTINCTION in the 'legitimized' business of stealing without consequence tainted with selective prosecution," he said.

The comments were made in response to remarks by EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede at the 8th Biennial Conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities in Nigeria, held in Kano. The conference was themed "Unlocking the Potentials of Artificial Intelligence: University Governance, Internationalisation and Rankings."

At the event, Olukoyede stated that findings from a year of EFCC field operations and investigations pointed to widespread student involvement in cybercrime. "My research in the last one year has shown that about six out of 10 students in our universities are into cybercrime. It is a very disturbing situation," he said.