The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed how internet fraudsters, commonly known as `Yahoo Boys`, wiped out N7.2 million from a serving judge`s bank account overnight.

The stolen funds represented six years of accumulated savings meant for her child`s school fees.

Speaking at a book launch in honour of retired High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, Olukoyede recounted receiving a distress call from the judge at 1:00 AM.

EFCC Chairman Ola Olukayode reported that a sitting judge lost N7.2 million in minutes due to rapid, unauthorized debit alerts. The incident ironically occurred in a state where an active court injunction restricts EFCC financial investigations. 

When Olukoyede reminded the victimized judge of her state`s legal restrictions against the EFCC, she urgently replied, "No, no, no! This is an exception. You must do something immediately!"

The anti-graft agency deployed its tracking tools immediately, intercepting the transaction and recovering the entire N7.2 million before 6:00 PM the same day.

Olukoyede noted that the experience highlights why the judiciary must cooperate with law enforcement rather than shielding suspects.

"I am very sure that if an application comes before her to stop the EFCC from carrying out its mandate, she will dismiss it because she has become a victim. It is important for us to understand the depth of this problem," Olukoyede stated.

The EFCC boss emphasized that the commission has already started deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to investigate modern crimes. However, he raised concerns over Nigeria`s outdated legal frameworks regarding digital evidence.

Presenting AI-generated evidence and robot analytics in Nigerian courts presents a significant challenge, as current laws lack specific criteria to validate such evidence. National legislators and law professors must collaborate to draft new legislation for the regulation and validation of AI evidence in the judicial system. 

Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), also spoke at the event, urging the EFCC to maintain this aggressive momentum to recover public funds hidden abroad.