By: Ade Philip
In what seems to be mysterious, the Guinness World Records has ranked a 7-year-old internet fraudster identified as Victor Oche Odeh, as the youngest fraudster in the world.
The exalted rank followed Odeh’s arrest and subsequent conviction by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on June 26, 2023.
The young Nigerian, Victor, alongside four other undergraduates, Chidebere Stanley Opara, Manasseh Sefa Ephraim, Chukwukere Obinna Paul, and Enyogu Etim Ekpo has been found guilty on separate one-count charges related to internet fraud.
The Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC secured convictions in a case presided over by Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court. The charges emerged from a Kaduna sting operation exposing a group’s intricate scheme using false identities on social networking sites to defraud victims, especially foreigners.
However, reports revealed that the 7-year-old was accused of cheating by impersonating a white man named Christopher Anderson from Denver, Colorado, USA, on Facebook.
The fraudulent activities spanned from January to July 2023, leading to the 7-year-old’s conviction under Section 57 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law 2017, punishable under Section 309 of the same law.
The arrest and conviction of the young fraudster have sparked controversy and discussions on the involvement of youth in cybercrimes.
Recall that Starnews Nigeria had earlier reported that the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria had slammed the anti-graft agency for the media parade of the seven-year-old boy.
HURIWA described the move as disconcerting, indecorous, and ill-conceived, while also condemning a recent report suggesting the head of the agency said seven out of 10 Nigerian undergraduates may be involved in cybercrimes.
The group therefore called on the National Assembly to enact a law that would exempt children who are in conflict with the laws from unduly parade and demonisation.
He added that the media parade of the little boy could cause a psychological damage of his reputation while demanding the rationale behind charging a seven-year-old child in the same regular court with adults noting that the EFCC could have conducted more investigation to verify whether the child was not actually bullied by the adults to participate in the fraud.
Starnews Nigeria observes that Internet fraud whose pseudonym is Yahoo-Yahoo, is fast becoming prevalent in Nigeria, as youths both graduates, undergraduates, secondary school students are currently enmeshed in the inglorious act.
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