Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has issued a stark warning that Nigeria is confronting a "serious moral and systemic failure" following a controversial statement by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, that approximately six out of every ten university students in the country are involved in internet fraud. In a statement released on Wednesday, Obi cautioned that if the EFCC's figure is accurate, Nigeria would be facing a national emergency, given the estimated 2 to 2.5 million university students in the country. "If indeed about 60% of them, roughly 1.4 million young people, are involved in fraud, then we are not just facing a crime issue; we are confronting a serious moral and systemic failure," Obi said. He linked the alleged trend to a weakened value system in society, arguing that young people often mirror the conduct they observe from leadership and public institutions. "When a system appears to reward wrongdoing, when integrity is not upheld, and when those in leadership are associated with allegations of forgery and dishonesty without consequence, it sends a dangerous message," the former Anambra State governor added.
Obi’s comments came in direct response to remarks made by EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede at the 8th Biennial Conference of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities held in Kano on Tuesday. "Six out of every 10 students in our universities are into cybercrime. It is a very disturbing situation," Olukoyede told the gathering. The EFCC chairman further alleged that some students involved in internet fraud had placed lecturers on their payroll, a practice he claimed was eroding academic integrity and exposing deeper corruption within tertiary institutions. Olukoyede also cited a major operation in Lagos where 792 suspects linked to a transnational cybercrime syndicate were arrested, noting that a significant number of them were students.
The EFCC chairman’s assertion was met with immediate and fierce backlash from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which described the claim as misleading, unfounded, and damaging to the reputation of Nigerian students. In a statement issued by its Senate President, Usman Adamu Nagwaza, NANS expressed deep concern over what it called a "fallacious and unfortunate assertion" that risks painting students in a negative light. "Nigerian students are not defined by criminality. We are individuals striving to acquire knowledge, build capacity, and contribute meaningfully to national development," NANS said. The student body called on Olukoyede to retract the statement in the interest of fairness and national integrity, warning that such remarks could harm the global perception of Nigerian students and weaken confidence in higher education institutions. NANS also questioned whether the alleged surge in cybercrime had occurred under the watch of the EFCC and other government agencies, calling for data transparency and accountability rather than broad generalizations.
The controversy has brought into sharp focus the state of Nigeria’s education sector, which Obi has repeatedly described as chronically underfunded and in urgent need of reform. Just a week before the EFCC’s claim, Obi had urged governments at all levels to prioritise education and human capital development over physical infrastructure, warning that underinvestment in education continues to undermine Nigeria’s development. He cited Nigeria’s Human Development Index score of 0.548 and rising unemployment as indicators of deeper structural challenges. "No nation rises above the quality of its education system," Obi had said, calling for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s education funding model.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has also taken steps in recent months to curb malpractice and admission racketeering in tertiary institutions. In January 2026, JAMB ordered several institutions to nullify illegal placements after an audit uncovered a troubling pattern where high-scoring applicants were sidelined to make room for candidates with lower marks. The board also flagged over 2,600 unauthorized admissions during the 2024/2025 academic session and tightened rules for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to curb malpractice.
Meanwhile, the EFCC itself has been actively investigating corruption within university administrations. On the same day the chairman made the 60% claim, the commission announced that it was probing vice-chancellors over inflated contracts and diversion of students’ fees. The anti-graft agency noted that a significant number of students arrested in a recent cybercrime syndicate bust in Lagos were undergraduates, a finding that Olukoyede said underscored the urgent need for reforms in university governance and accountability systems. The EFCC has also begun deploying artificial intelligence tools in digital forensics and financial investigations to enhance its capacity to combat cybercrime.
As the debate rages on, the conflicting positions highlight the absence of a universally accepted, comprehensive study on the prevalence of cybercrime among Nigerian students. Obi warned against dismissing the issue, stressing that it raises urgent questions about role models, governance, and the moral direction of young Nigerians. "If we do not demonstrate integrity at the top, we cannot expect it at the bottom," he said, calling for a national examination of the country's failure to rebuild its value system. For NANS, the immediate demand is clear: a retraction and an apology from the EFCC chairman. For the EFCC, the justification for its claim is rooted in its operational experience and arrests. For the millions of Nigerian students who will vote in 2027, the outcome of this controversy may shape their perception of a political class that, in their view, has often lectured them on morality while failing to provide jobs, quality education, or a functioning economy. The 60% figure may be disputed, but the underlying crisis of values that Obi identified is, for many young Nigerians, an undeniable daily reality.
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