Court jails 18 foreign nationals for cyberterrorism and internet fraud

Eighteen foreign nationals — 15 Chinese, two Filipinos, and one Pakistani — have been sentenced for their involvement in cyberterrorism and internet fraud by the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The convictions were secured by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) between Thursday, June 19, and Friday, June 20, 2025. Justices Chukwujekwu Aneke, Ayokunle Faji, and Yellim Bogoro presided over the cases.

Those convicted include Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Long Long, Zhang Hua Zhai, Lin Hao Bo, Chen Fusheng, Chen Dong Dong, Wang Gong Lin, Pan Cai Yu, Huang Ren Jian, Zhang Xiao Lei, Khurram Shahzad, Chen Yuan, Wu Yong An, and Chen Xin.

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Each suspect was arraigned on separate charges related to cyberterrorism and internet fraud. One of the charges accused Filipino national Caselyn Pionela of orchestrating cyberattacks intended to destabilize Nigeria’s social and economic structures by recruiting Nigerian youths for identity theft and impersonation.

The charge read in part: “You, Caselyn Pionela, in December 2024 in Lagos, willfully accessed computer systems to seriously destabilize Nigeria’s economic and social foundations by employing Nigerian youths to commit identity theft and impersonate foreign nationals for financial gain.”

All 18 defendants pleaded guilty to the charges against them. Their convictions mark a major milestone in the EFCC’s crackdown on transnational cybercrime and digital terrorism.