Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has shared details of how a group of internet fraudsters, locally referred to as “Yahoo Boys,” targeted the bank account of an active judge during the late-night hours, siphoning more than ₦7.2 million.

The head of the anti-corruption agency explained that the stolen funds represented six years of disciplined savings that the judicial officer had systematically built up to finance her child’s educational pursuits. Olukoyede recounted the event during a public book launch event dedicated to honoring a retired High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye.

According to the EFCC boss, the victimized judge frantically got in touch with him around 1:00 AM after being abruptly woken up by a series of debit alerts on her phone. Within a short period, the cybercriminals successfully emptied roughly ₦7.2 million from her savings.

Devastated by the realization that her long-term school fee savings had vanished overnight, she immediately begged the commission to step in.

Interestingly, the cyber-theft occurred in a state where local legal bottlenecks had previously restricted the anti-graft agency from checking or investigating financial misdemeanors due to an existing court order. Olukoyede noted the irony of the situation, sharing that the judge admitted her state had an injunction barring the EFCC from looking into financial crimes locally, but explicitly pleaded that her emergency was an exception requiring instant action.

In response to her urgent distress call, the EFCC launched a rapid trace on the transactions. The agency successfully tracked and intercepted the stolen funds, fully recovering the entire ₦7.2 million before 6:00 PM on that very same day. Commenting on the resolution, Olukoyede lightly observed that after experiencing the reality of cybercrime firsthand, the judge would likely reconsider any future applications brought before her court aimed at blocking the EFCC from executing its lawful investigative duties.