Lagos Court Jails 7 Chinese Nationals Over Cyberterrorism, Internet Fraud
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced seven Chinese nationals to one year imprisonment each for their involvement in cyberterrorism and internet fraud linked to a large-scale Ponzi scheme uncovered in December 2024.
The convicted individuals — Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Long Long, and Zhang Hua Zhai — were apprehended by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during a raid on a property located on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos, where over 700 suspects were arrested.
They were separately arraigned before Justices Ayokunle Faji, Chukwujekwu Aneke, and Yellim Bogoro on one-count charges bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
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According to the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, the prosecution team—comprising Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Chineye Okezie, and Banjo Temitope—informed the courts that the defendants had opted for plea bargains. The agreements were formally filed on June 20, 2025.
All seven defendants pleaded guilty and confirmed that they entered into the plea bargains voluntarily.
Following their pleas, the court sentenced each of them to one year in prison and imposed a fine of ₦1 million.
In addition, the court ordered the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to ensure the deportation of all the convicts to their respective countries within seven days of completing their prison terms.
The amended one-count charge stated that the defendants, in December 2024, “willfully accessed computer systems with the intent to destabilize and destroy Nigeria’s fundamental economic and social structures by recruiting Nigerian youths to engage in identity theft and impersonate foreign nationals for financial gain.”
Their offences are in violation of Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.
By PRNigeria
