LAGOS, June 24 (AGCNewsNet) – A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced 17 Chinese nationals to one year in prison each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud, following a plea bargain arrangement with Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justices D.E. Osiagor and D.I. Dipeolu delivered the ruling on Monday after the convicts changed their initial pleas from not guilty to guilty. The individuals were part of a group of 792 suspects arrested during the EFCC’s “Eagle Flush Operation” in Lagos on December 19, 2024.

The convicted persons include: Yu Hui (alias A. Bin), Huang Jin Hui, Fei Fan, Lu Qiang, Hu Xi Zheng, Sun Zhi Peng, Wu Hao, Cong Bing, Li Qiang (alias Yang Huan Huan), Zheng Wei (alias A. Hong), Cheng Jian, Da Tou, A Wen, Zhang Lei, Huang Zhi, Pan Jiong, and Chen Wen Yuan.

Each defendant faced a one-count charge of unlawfully accessing computer systems to destabilize and damage Nigeria’s economy and social structure — a violation of Section 18(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.

EFCC prosecutors Nneemeka Omewa, U.S. Kyari, and B.M. Isah told the court that all 17 defendants had entered into plea bargain agreements, which the court accepted. The court sentenced each to one year imprisonment effective from their arrest date — December 10, 2024 — and imposed a N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) fine on each convict.

In addition, the court ordered the Nigerian Immigration Service to repatriate all 17 individuals to China within seven days and directed the forfeiture of seized items — including mobile phones, laptops, and routers — to the Federal Government.

The EFCC hailed the ruling as a major milestone in the ongoing fight against cybercrime in Nigeria.

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