On EFCC’s stance on landlords of yahoo boys

The increase in number of internet fraudsters, known  as Yahoo Boys, in Nigeria has become a menace and source of concern to many Nigerians and the anti-graft agancy the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In spite of the efforts of the commission to put an end to the cyber crimes in Nigeria, there seems to be no respite and many Nigerian youths have embraced the menace as a way of life and means of livelihood with support from adults.

It is very strange to see some parents encouraging their children to take Yahoo Yahoo as a business to enable them to live large and oppress their neighours. They give all forms of untenable excuses as if they were the only ones affected by such issues.

More worrisome is the fact that some landlords now prefer to rent out their houses to yahoo boys rather than hardworking people because they are able to pay exorbitant fees for slittle spaces.

This is why the EFCC’s warning to Nigeria landlords on harbouring Yahoo Boys in their houses a step in the right direction if laws can be made to support such. While some landlords are oblivious of the work most of their tenants do, many are aware and do not care.

The EFCC has forgotten to include hotel owners as some Yahoo Boys live in hotels and carry out their nefarious acts from there. Let me use this medium to advise all the landlords to give their houses to those who have legal means of livelihood; prospective tenants should be made to swear to an affidavit stating the nature of his work and address including the name of responsible person who can testify that such person has a job so that if it turns out that the such prospective tenant has deliberately provided false information under oath, the landlord is exonerated.

Landlords should join hands with the EFCC to fight cybercrime in Nigeria as it is becoming unbearable. I want to urge the EFCC to inform bank managers across the country to report any account that keeps receiving millions of naira in a manner suggestive that the account is being used for criminal activities.

Barrister AbdulMumin Jimoh,

Ibadan.