The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of 431 mobile phones linked to convicted Chinese cyber-fraud operators to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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Justice Dehinde Dipeolu issued the order on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa.
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on July 8, 2026, and directed the Commission to publish the order in a national newspaper. The publication was intended to give any interested individual or entity an opportunity to show cause why the devices should not be permanently forfeited.
Moving the application for final forfeiture, Kofarnaisa informed the court that the EFCC had complied with the directive by publishing the notice in The Guardian newspaper on August 11, 2026.
She said no individual or entity came forward to contest the forfeiture within the period stipulated by the court.
The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC operative, Christopher Augustine, detailing the findings of the Commission’s investigation and the alleged connection between the devices and a cyber-fraud operation in Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to the affidavit, the 431 phones were linked to a facility known as “HK,” where Chinese nationals and Nigerian youths were allegedly involved in an operation that trained and deployed Nigerian youths and foreign nationals to carry out romance, investment and cryptocurrency fraud.
Augustine stated that victims in the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe were major targets of the operation.
He said a sting operation conducted on December 10, 2024, resulted in the arrest of more than 700 individuals, including about 500 Nigerians, 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos and other foreign nationals.
The affidavit further alleged that Genting International Company Limited (GICL), controlled by Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, and other foreign nationals were involved in the operation.
The Commission stated that 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.
According to the EFCC, Huang and the company pleaded guilty to the charges and were convicted and sentenced by the court.
In support of the forfeiture application, Augustine stated that the 431 devices were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and were therefore subject to forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
After hearing the Commission’s submissions and reviewing the affidavit evidence, Justice Dipeolu held that the application had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of all 431 mobile phones to the Federal Government.
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