Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said that landlords who rent out their houses to internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys, risk going to jail for 15 years.
The anti-graft agency also said that Hoteliers who accommodate the fraudsters also face the same fate.
The strong warning to landlords was contained in an e-flier of a scheduled Twitter Space discussion on June 29 to be hosted by the EFCC.
The topic of the discussion is ‘Give Your House To Yahoo Boys, Spend 15 Years In Jail.’
Recall that in September last year, EFCC in a report said the Lekki area of Lagos State is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.
The rent in Lekki is also on the high side because the fraudsters pay any rate to rent a property there.
EFCC zonal commander, Michael Nzekwe, had expressed concern about the “cold complicity by hospitality entrepreneurs with Yahoo Boys.”
Nzekwe accused some of them of working with suspected fraudsters by housing them over a long period and making internet facilities available.
The official stated that such an act negates Section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
“The section provides for a prison term of between five and 15 years without an option of fine for any person who permits his premises to be used for any offence under the Act,” he said.
On the argument that hoteliers are business people and cannot determine who a fraudster is, Nzekwe explained the law doesn’t recognise the position.
The EFCC told them to always ask their customers for means of identification and to include their occupation during the check-in procedures.
