Prop of the Week: Noble Igwe is not scared to say how yahoo boys hide their money

The fashion blogger has expanded the scope of the conversation about internet fraudsters.

It's not unusual for certain topics to dominate the conversation on social media for days on end. After the news of the EFCC's raid on Club 57 and the subsequent arrest of suspected internet fraudsters hit the populace, it seemed a no-brainer that we would discuss it.

Our prop of the week goes to Noble Igwe for tweeting a few observations that have shaken tables and ruffled quite a number of feathers.

In the midst of the heated discussion about yahoo boys and the extent of their involvement in the Nigerian economy, the blogger and fashionista addressed how certain businesses are used as fronts for internet fraud, even going so far as to name streets like Fola Osibo in Lekki where he claims internet fraudsters own businesses.

"After last night, club owners are going to record low sales and Uber drivers will be busy tonight"

 

"Online stores and stores on Admiralty/Fola Osibo are used for money laundering... ", he continued.

It is fair to say that within certain circles, the many platforms used by internet fraudsters as fronts for their wealth were already known.

ALSO READ: Can we all just hold hands and agree that internet fraud is a crime?

Noble's tweets, however, put these suspicions in the public space and validated what many previously suspected.

In doing so, he struck a nerve and helped to add an important question to the conversation; that of whether internet fraud is justifiable and whether we owe fraudsters some sort of consideration when addressing their activities.

The conversation is still ongoing and as far as I can see, it will continue for as long as young men can conjure money from unwitting individuals and businesses via identity theft and hacking.

But for where we are now, Noble Igwe has greatly widened the scope of the conversation and that exactly is what we need.