The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of 431 mobile phones linked to Chinese nationals convicted over cyber-fraud activities in Lagos.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the commission secured the forfeiture order following a ruling by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
The judge granted the order after hearing a motion on notice filed by the EFCC through its counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa.
The court had earlier, on July 8, 2026, granted an interim forfeiture order over the devices and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow interested individuals or entities to show cause why the phones should not be permanently forfeited.
Moving the application for final forfeiture, Kofarnaisa told the court that the commission had complied with the directive by publishing the notice in The Guardian newspaper on August 11, 2026.
She said no individual or organisation came forward to challenge the proposed forfeiture within the period stipulated by the court.
The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC operative, Christopher Augustine, who presented details of the commission’s investigation into the devices.
According to the affidavit, the 431 phones were linked to a cyber-fraud operation allegedly involving Chinese and Nigerian youths at a facility known as “HK” in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The facility was allegedly used to train and deploy Nigerian youths and foreign nationals to engage in romance, investment and cryptocurrency fraud targeting victims in the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
The affidavit stated that a sting operation conducted on December 10, 2024, resulted in the arrest of more than 700 persons, comprising about 500 Nigerians, 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos and other foreign nationals.
The EFCC also alleged that Genting International Company Limited (GICL), reportedly controlled by Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, a Chinese national, and other foreign nationals, was involved in the operation.
Huang and GICL were subsequently charged with seven counts bordering on cyber terrorism, possession of fraudulent documents, failure to declare activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), illegal foreign exchange transactions and money laundering.
The commission said Huang and GICL pleaded guilty to the charges and were subsequently convicted and sentenced by the court.
The EFCC argued that the 431 mobile phones were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and were therefore liable to forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
After considering the submissions of the commission and the affidavit evidence before the court, Justice Dipeolu held that the application had merit.
The judge consequently ordered the final forfeiture of the 431 mobile phones to the Federal Government of Nigeria.