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Secures 46-year jail term for two Chinese cyber fraudsters
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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed as false and irresponsible claims that one of its prosecutors stepped down under pressure to compromise the high-profile fraud case involving Jesam Michael, CEO of Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS) Limited.
EFCC Head of Media and Publicity Dele Oyewale described a report by Sahara Reporters titled “EFCC Prosecutor Steps Down Amid Pressure To Compromise High-Profile Fraud Case Against International Fraudster Jesam Michael” as fabricated, unprofessional and in bad taste.
The EFCC explained that the prosecutor in question, Geraldine Ofulue, voluntarily resigned from the Commission to pursue other professional engagements and not as a result of any external pressure.
To ensure continuity in the prosecution of the case, another prosecutor, Emenike Mgbemele, was assigned to take over.
According to the Commission, Ofulue diligently handled the case during her tenure, presenting nine witnesses and several exhibits before the court, under the supervision of senior officers.
Her successor, Mgbemele, merely adopted the existing court processes, particularly in opposing Jesam Michael’s fourth application for bail, which the Commission maintained was necessary as the defendant was considered a flight risk.
“The insinuation of compromise or pressure is baseless and amounts to deliberate blackmail,” Oyewale said.
He stressed that Michael and his company allegedly defrauded over 50,000 investors in a transnational Ponzi scheme.
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The Commission warned that it would not hesitate to take legal action against individuals or organisations engaging in deliberate misrepresentation or attacks against its officers.
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development, the EFCC has secured a major conviction in a high-profile cybercrime case involving foreign nationals.
Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, sentenced two Chinese nationals, Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu, to 46 years’ imprisonment each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud involving ₦3.4 billion and $2.5 million.
The convicts were among a syndicate of 792 suspected fraudsters arrested in December 2024 during an EFCC operation tagged “Eagle Flush Operation.”
Investigations revealed that they procured and used Nigerian youths to impersonate foreign nationals in order to defraud victims through online platforms.
They were arraigned alongside one Friday Audu and a company, Genting International Co. Ltd., on a seven-count charge bordering on cyber-terrorism, internet fraud and money laundering.
At the resumed hearing, Haoyu and Hongxu changed their pleas from “not guilty” to “guilty,” prompting the prosecution to urge the court to impose the maximum penalty.
The court subsequently sentenced both men to a cumulative 46-year jail term each, with an option of a ₦56 million fine, and ordered that they undertake three days of community service and be repatriated after serving their sentences.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of several recovered items to the Federal Government, including over 1,500 mobile phones, hundreds of computers, routers, generators, vehicles, SIM cards and other electronic equipment seized from multiple properties in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, Lagos.
The trial of the third defendant, Friday Audu, who maintained his not guilty plea, was adjourned to April 29, 2026.
To Oyewale, the conviction and ongoing prosecutions were evidence of EFCC’s commitment to fighting financial crimes and cyber fraud without fear or compromise.
