A 12-year-old boy, Munachi Udochukwu, has revealed how his mother sold off the family’s only piece of land to fund his enrollment into an internet fraud training centre, commonly known as a “Yahoo School,” in Lagos.
Munachi, originally from Anambra State, was among several suspects arrested by detectives from the Lagos State Police Command during a raid on an illegal cybercrime hub operating in the Iju area of the state.
Recounting his ordeal to officers of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, where he is currently in custody, Munachi said his life took a dark turn following the sudden death of his father—the family’s sole breadwinner.
“My father died unexpectedly after leaving for work one morning,” he said. “Everything collapsed after that. My mother’s petty trading couldn’t sustain us, and I had to drop out of school.”
Desperate for help, Munachi’s mother reached out to a friend, who instead introduced her to a gang recruiting young boys into cybercrime.
“She believed it was a quick way out of poverty,” Munachi said. “But the problem was money for a laptop, data, and other tools. So, without thinking of the risks, she sold the only land my father inherited just so I could join.”
Shortly after, Munachi and three other boys were transported to Lagos and enrolled in the cybercrime facility, where they were trained in romance scams and other online fraud tactics targeting foreigners and Nigerians alike.
“They showed us dating sites and taught us how to lure people looking for love in exchange for dollars. Everyone had a role to play. If you failed, you were beaten or denied food,” he recounted. “We spent months there before the police arrested us. Most of the money we made went to the ‘teachers’. We only got food.”
At a press briefing, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh—represented by Command Spokesman CSP Benjamin Hundeyin—confirmed the arrest of 10 suspects in connection with the illegal training centre. Among them were four operators identified as Chibike Iheijika (23), Stanley Iheijika (22), Obiora Oyedibe (26), and Emmanuel Onedibe (25).
The police also named six of the trainees, including Munachi Udochukwu (12), Okorie Henry, Otoh Chisom (20), Okeke Kwufrochukwu (26), Uchenna Obeji (26), and Chinedu Ukachukwu (23).
“Preliminary investigations reveal that the ringleaders recruited these boys from Anambra and forced them into cybercrime. The money they made was seized by their handlers,” Hundeyin stated.
All suspects have been transferred to the SCID for further investigation. Authorities say efforts are underway to arrest those who sponsored the trainees and to locate the owners of the facility where the criminal training was conducted.
