Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested one Akpojivi Onoriode a popular Yahoo-Yahoo kingpin and four other internet fraudsters in Calabar, Cross River State, following two separate raids carried out in the early hours of Saturday, May 4, 2019, and Sunday, May 5, 2019.
The Saturday morning operation led to the arrest of a known “yahoo” kingpin, Akpojivi Onoriode, a 29-year-old graduate of Delta State University, Abraka who is married with two kids.
According to the statement released by EFCC, Akpojivi Onoriode was arrested in his lavishly furnished duplex located at Plot 10, Block VI, Unical Satellite Town, Calabar, which he confessed was purchased with proceeds from his illicit “yahoo” business. He confessed that he had been in the “yahoo-yahoo” business for a long time and was known as “Blinks” or “Mr White”. He admitted that he has been in the “yahoo” business for a very long time and currently operates an offshore account in China.
Akpojivi Onoriode said: “I was really known in my school then as a yahoo boy. I have two kids. I didn’t want to bring them up where people will say, ah! your father is a yahoo boy. That was why I relocated my family from Asaba to Calabar.
“When I came out now and saw you people and the bus outside, my mind just told me there was a problem.”
While conducting a search on the premises, three luxury cars were recovered from him – ZDX Acura car, E 300 Mercedes Benz and a Range Rover SUV. The Range Rover could, however, not be moved out of the premises with other exhibits due to mechanical problems. Other items recovered include two iPhones, one Nokia phone, and documents of landed properties owned by the suspect.
The morning raid on May 5, 2019, led to the arrest of Ifeanyi Chukwudi, Godwin Joseph and Iluobe Daniel. They were picked up at different locations within Calabar, following intelligence reports gathered by operatives of the Commission, as a result of the high rate of cybercrime in the town.
Chukwudi confessed that he specialized in love scam, admitting that he had “made a lot of money from the business (yahoo-yahoo)”.