A First Prosecution Witness, (PWI) in the trial of one Xiao Hong Will, a Chinese, over an alleged cyber terrorism and internet fraud, has narrated how he was instructed by his employers to present himself as a female to gain clients’ trust.
The witness, Rowland Turaki, a cyber security student, told Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos that he was one of the employees of the Chinese national standing trial for alleged cyber terrorism and internet fraud.
Hong Will, who is standing trial, is a member of the syndicate of 792 alleged cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud suspects arrested in Lagos on December 19, 2024 during a surprise operation tagged “Eagle Flush Operation” by operatives of the EFCC.
He was subsequently arraigned alongside Genting International Company Limited on January 31, 2025 on a three-count charge bordering on an alleged case of cybercrimes, cyber-terrorism, possession of documents containing false pretence and identity theft, among others.
Hong Will and GENTING INTERNATIONAL CO. LIMITED, were accused of employing Nigerian youths for identity theft and to holding themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for themselves, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 and 27 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
At Friday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari, informed the court that the prosecution had its witnesses in court and was ready to proceed with trial.
However, counsel to the defendant, B.A. Omateno, told the court that the case was quite tedious and that she might not be able to proceed with the cross-examination.
In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu held that the defence counsel’s submission was not strong enough to discontinue the proceedings.
Giving his testimony, Turaki explained that he got employed at the company in November after he responded to a job opening advert for a customer service representative with a 250,000 salary.
He said following his response to the advert, he was added to a WhatsApp group where an address was given for the applicants to go for an interview. He went to the address at 7, Oyin Jolayemi in Victoria Island, where he was tested for his typing skills and not for his computer proficiency skills. “The test was to beat a 30-word mark in one minute; and if that’s done, you are hired”, he said.
He continued: “I expected follow-up questions, but there was none. I was told to resume the next day and I was informed of the rules and regulations of the company. I was also told of the salary structure as well as accommodation and transportation arrangement. I went back home and packed my stuff to resume at work the next day. “
On getting to work, Turaki said, he was given a script and some information needed as a guideline for his role in the company. He was told by his employers that he had to memorise all that I was given as a guideline for his new role. “For the next three days, I was made to study the script, which I will use to speak to clients”, he stated.
He said he was given a chat template; a set of instructions containing conversation between Genting International Company Ltd. and a client. The chat was basically befriending the client and gaining the client’s trust. A roadmap of how the chat will go and what to say.
“I was to present myself as a woman to gain the client’s trust. I was told not to deviate from the template and adhere strictly to it. After three days of training, they provided me with a desktop computer. We were given numbers to contact. We had a time duration of five days to gain the client’s trust, using the template provided. I started chatting with multiple people, mostly men from European countries”.
He said further that after about three weeks at the company, he had not gotten the company the required number of clients and was pressured for it.
“We were given deadlines and threats of sacking without pay and there were fines. Because of this, I decided to leave the company and when I told my superiors that I wanted to resign, a memo was passed around that if you want to leave you have to give 15 days notice; otherwise, you will leave without getting a dime.“
He also told the court that the company provided them with a model, whose job was to provide them with pictures and videos, so that if they needed to do video calls with the clients, it would be believable.
“The name of the model assigned to me is Amity Smith. The job of the model was to gain complete trust of the client. Once this has been done, and trust gained, my employers will send a message on the telegram group and tell us to hands off and they take over from us. We stop chatting with the client and move on to the next. Our supervisors are Chinese. I received payment for the duration of my stay, via a bank transfer”.
He said his employer had armed police presence in the work and accommodation premises, and based on the pressure from his employers, he didn’t think it was wise to flee given the high level of security presence at the premises and he wanted to get paid.
“I wanted to get medication at a time, but the Chinese people told the security men not to let us go. When they saw that we were creating a scene, they told the security men to forcefully send us back. We were mostly youths of age 20 to 30. They threatened us and it contributed to my decision to leave. Unfortunately, the EFCC arrested us before I could do that”, the witness said.
The case was adjourned till March 18, 2025 for continuation of trial.
