By Nkechi Eze
In a major crackdown on transnational cybercrime, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of 14 Chinese nationals involved in cyberterrorism and internet fraud. The judgment was delivered on Friday, June 27, 2025, by Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to an official signed statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the convicts—Su Zong Gen, Li Zhong Chang, Chen Gui Ping, Li Xiang Long, San Feng Zhang, Jia Yang, Jia Zhi Hao, Liu Chuang, Yu Hai Ging, Zhao Xiao Liang, Dai Li, Tao Kun, Mao Bu Yi, and Zhao Zi Cheng—were part of a larger syndicate of 792 suspects arrested on December 19, 2024. The suspects were apprehended during a sting operation code-named “Eagle Flush Operation” conducted by operatives of the Commission in Lagos.
The EFCC had arraigned the 14 Chinese nationals on separate charges bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud. One of the charges filed against a defendant read: “That you, Su Zong Gen, sometime in December 2024 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, willfully caused to be accessed computer system for the purpose of destabilizing and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).”
Initially, all 14 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. However, during Friday’s hearing, they changed their pleas to guilty. Following the plea reversal, prosecuting counsel T.J. Banjo and M.S. Owede urged the court to convict the defendants based on their confessions. The defence counsel did not oppose the application, paving the way for immediate sentencing.
Justice Osiagor consequently found the defendants guilty and sentenced each of them to one year in prison, with an option of a ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira) fine. In addition, the court directed that the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) should ensure the repatriation of the convicts to their country of origin within seven days after completing their prison terms.
Furthermore, the court ordered the forfeiture of all items recovered from the convicts during the EFCC operation to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
