Since the beginning of 2025, Nigerian authorities have arrested hundreds of Chinese nationals in connection with cybercrime syndicates operating in the country.
In August, 60 Chinese nationals were among more than 100 people deported by Nigeria after their convictions on cyber terrorism and internet fraud charges. Most of those convicted were running online romance scams aimed at persuading their victims to invest in a fake cryptocurrency, according to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
“The fight against cybercrime is being pursued with renewed intensity, and we are working with global partners to ensure these networks are dismantled,” the EFCC said after the arrests of other cybercriminals in February.
In their criminal proceedings against alleged cybercriminals, EFCC officials argued that cybercrime destabilizes Nigeria’s economy and social structure.
Dozens more Chinese nationals have been deported or imprisoned in recent years for cybercrime that has taken root in countries across the continent.
Angola arrested 46 Chinese nationals in 2024 that were operating an illegal online casino out of a hotel in Luanda that targeted gamblers in Nigeria and Brazil.
Nine Chinese nationals were among 14 people arrested in Namibia in 2023 and charged with running an online scam known as pig butchering that used fake identities to trick victims into buying fake cryptocurrency. Officials charged the same people with money laundering and human trafficking.
Zambia broke up what the government described as “a sophisticated internet fraud syndicate” that involved 22 Chinese nationals who targeted mobile and online victims in Peru, Singapore, other African countries and the United Arab Emirates.
But Nigeria remains the epicenter of Africa’s Chinese-led cybercrime operations. In late 2024 and early 2025, nearly 1,000 suspects, including 177 Chinese nationals, were arrested in raids in Abuja and Lagos.
Nigeria’s economic challenges over the past three years — inflation higher than 30%, rising unemployment and growing debt — are hindering its ability to confront online crime in a way that increases public confidence, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2025 Nigeria Budget and Economic Outlook.
According to Nigerian authorities, the cybercrime operations that have been broken up are corporate-like in their scale and structure. Offices held rows of computers, thousands of smartphone SIM cards and training for Nigerians recruited to conduct the scams.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that Africa has become a refuge for Chinese and other cybercriminals pushed out of Southeast Asia by government crackdowns.
In its Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2025 report, Interpol reported that two-thirds of its African members said cybercrime accounted for a medium to high percentage of overall crime. In West Africa and East Africa, cybercrimes comprised 30% of all offenses.
Widespread smartphone use has increased Africans’ vulnerability to cybercriminals, according to Interpol.
Many African countries also are still building legal frameworks to confront cybercrime and have invested less than other countries in cybersecurity, according to Interpol. Gaps in citizens’ digital literacy worsen the threat, particularly as mobile banking continues to expand.
“Scammers employ social engineering tactics to hijack accounts and solicit emergency funds from unsuspecting contacts,” Interpol investigators wrote. Social engineering tricks victims into revealing passwords and other private material.
After raids in late 2024 that arrested 148 Chinese nationals among nearly 800 others, EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said the arrests showed that Nigeria was serious about tackling online crime.
“Foreigners are taking advantage of our nation’s unfortunate reputation as a haven of frauds to establish a foothold here to disguise their atrocious criminal enterprises,” Olukoyede said.
