Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, convicted and sentenced nine Chinese nationals, two of whom are women, to one-year imprisonment each for economic sabotage and financial terrorism.

The convicts are Zhao Xiang Hui, Liu Hai Rong, Liu Gang, Du Ji Geng, Li Dong, Huang Bo, Xhiong Zhen, Lai Rui Feng, and Deng Wei Qiang.

In addition to their prison terms, the court ordered each of them to pay a fine of N1m.

Their conviction follows a crackdown by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on December 10, 2024, when its operatives raided a building on the sixth floor of a property in the Oyin Jolayemi area of Lagos.

During the raid, over 700 individuals were arrested for alleged involvement in cyber terrorism and economic sabotage.

At the resumed hearing of their trial on Thursday, the EFCC counsel, Nnemeka Omewa, informed the court that the nine convicts had entered into a plea bargain agreement with the commission, which the EFCC found acceptable.

The defence counsel, Folarin Damela, confirmed the plea deal and urged the court to adopt it.

The amended charge was read in court, and all nine convicts pleaded guilty.

They also confirmed that they willingly consented to and signed the plea bargain agreement.

Following the guilty pleas, Omewa asked the court to convict and sentence the convicts in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

With no objection from the defence, Justice Osiagor convicted them and handed down the agreed sentence.

Justice Osiagor ruled that the prison term would run from December 10, 2024, the date of their arrest, and ordered that all items recovered from the convicts, including furniture, computers, and laptops, be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The court also directed the Nigerian Immigration Service to repatriate the convicts to China upon completion of their sentences.

According to the amended one-count charge, the convicts were found guilty of willfully accessing computer systems in December 2024 to orchestrate activities aimed at destabilising Nigeria’s economic and social structure.

They were accused of recruiting Nigerian youths to commit identity theft and pose as foreign nationals for financial gain.

According to EFCC, the offence committed is contrary to Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.