The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has commenced the deportation of 192 foreign nationals convicted for their involvement in internet fraud, in a major clampdown on cross-border cybercrime.
It was gathered that the first batch of 42 convicts was deported on Sunday, while additional groups are scheduled to be airlifted to their respective countries on Monday and Tuesday.
The mass repatriation follows a court order mandating their removal after serving jail terms in Nigeria.
The deportees were among hundreds of foreign nationals arrested in December 2024 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in what the agency described as the “largest single-day” operation against internet fraudsters in Nigeria.
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Operatives of the EFCC had stormed a seven-storey building in Victoria Island, Lagos, where 792 members of a criminal syndicate were rounded up.
The anti-graft commission had revealed that the foreigners had allegedly converted the facility into a training hub where Nigerians were taught how to execute romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and other internet-based investment scams.
“Those arrested included 114 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakhstani citizens, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian”, EFCC reported.
It also reported that in July, final forfeiture of digital assets worth $222,729 traced to some of the Chinese convicts was secured.
They were subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lagos on various charges bordering on cybercrime and related offences.
By June 2025, some of the foreign nationals had been convicted, with the court directing the Comptroller-General of Immigration to ensure their deportation within seven days of completing their prison sentences.
The EFCC had reiterated commitment to dismantle transnational fraud networks.
