By Muhammad Mamman
In a bold nationwide campaign, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sounded a clarion call to Nigerian youths: shun internet fraud or risk a future locked out of leadership. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede delivered this powerful message through senior officials addressing National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members at orientation camps across Nigeria, urging them to reject cybercrime and embrace integrity as the cornerstone of a brighter tomorrow.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale shared the development in a statement to Peoples Gazette on Thursday evening. Speaking at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, Babatunde Sulaiman, Head of Public Affairs for Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, represented Mr Olukoyede, warning Batch B, Stream 1 corps members of the dire consequences of cybercrime. “Internet fraud is a dead-end street,” Mr Sulaiman declared. “Convictions brand you as an ex-convict, slamming the door on future opportunities. You cannot become a president, governor, or leader of any credible organisation with such a record.”
The EFCC’s message was clear: a criminal record is a lifelong barrier. Ex-convicts face visa denials from embassies worldwide and exclusion from running reputable enterprises. “The youth must harness the internet for progress, not crime,” Mr Sulaiman urged, calling on corps members to educate their peers about the devastating impact of a criminal record.
In Bayelsa’s Kaiama NYSC camp, Assistant Superintendent Otagada Sunday Ogar echoed the chairman’s sentiments, linking Nigeria’s challenges to rampant corruption. “To shape a better future, you must act today,” he told corps members. “The fight against cybercrime and corruption is urgent. Don’t close the door on your prospects.”
The campaign reverberated across Nigeria, from Rivers State’s Nounwa Gbam camp, where Deputy Superintendent James Adayilo Hosea vowed a relentless crackdown on fraud, to Oyo State’s Iseyin camp, where Superintendent Olumide Egbodofo rallied youths to reject corruption and champion whistleblowing. “Be deliberate,” he urged. “Partner with the EFCC to spread the anti-corruption gospel.”
From Kano to Maiduguri, Ilorin to Enugu, Makurdi to Uyo, the EFCC’s clarion call resounded: corps members must become “foot soldiers” in the battle against economic and financial crimes. With Nigeria’s future at stake, the agency’s campaign is a rallying cry for a generation to choose integrity over infamy.
