Skip to content
BY-NC-ND 3.0 license Open Access Published by De Gruyter September 28, 2013

A spiritual dimension to cybercrime in Nigeria: The ‘yahoo plus’ phenomenon

  • Oludayo Tade EMAIL logo
From the journal Human Affairs

Abstract

Cybercrime in Nigeria is largely perpetrated by young people and students in tertiary institutions, and are socially tagged yahoo yahoo or yahoo boys. Yahoo boys rely on their computer dexterity to victimise unsuspecting persons in cyberspace. A new phenomenon in cybercrime is mixing spiritual elements with internet surfing to boost cybercrime success rates. This paper examines the factors underlying this spiritual dimension (cyber spiritualism) to cybercrime, and discusses some of the strategies employed in perpetuating cyber crime. Using Space Transition Theory of cybercrime, data were generated on yahoo boys and those involved in yahoo plus. The clampdown on Internet fraudsters by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in-group conflict among yahoo boys over social recognition, reduced victimisation and delayed success, and mass media enlightenment were reported factors influencing the fusion of spiritual elements in cyber crime. The methods used include ase or mayehun (incontrovertible order), charmed or magical rings (oruka-ere) and incisions made around the wrist, which are used to surf the net, while ijapa (tortoise) is used to navigate profitable sites. Unsuspecting victims fall under the spell of the ase via phone conversation where spiritual orders are made to the victims without their objecting.

[1] Abiodun, R. (1994). Understanding Yoruba Art and Aesthetics: The Concept of Ase. African Arts 27(3), 68–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/333720310.2307/3337203Search in Google Scholar

[2] Adamski A. (1998) Crimes Related to the Computer Network. Threats and Opportunities: A Criminological Perspective. Helsinki, Finland: European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI). Retrieved on December 15 2006, from http://www.ulapland.fi/home/oiffi/enlist/resources/HeuniWeb.htm Search in Google Scholar

[3] Adeniran, A. (2008). The Internet and Emergence of Yahooboys sub-Culture in Nigeria. International Journal of Cyber Criminology (IJCC) 2 (2), 368–381. Search in Google Scholar

[4] Adomi, E., Igun, S. E. (2008). Combating Crime in Nigeria. The Electronic Library 26, 716–725. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/0264047081091073810.1108/02640470810910738Search in Google Scholar

[5] Alubo, O. (2011). The Public Space in Nigeria: Politics of Power, Gender and Exclusion. Africa Development XXXVI, 1, 75–95. Search in Google Scholar

[6] Abimbola, W. (1975). In W. Abimbola (Ed.). Iwapele: The Concept of Good Character in Ifa Literary Corpus Yoruba Oral Tradition: Selections from the Papers Presented at the Seminar on Yoruba Oral Tradition: Poetry in Music, Dance and Drama, pp. 388–420. Ile Ife. Search in Google Scholar

[7] Akiwowo, Akinsola A. (1983). Ajobi and Ajogbe: Variations on the Theme of Sociation. Ife: University of Ife Press. Search in Google Scholar

[8] Atolagbe, A.M.O. (2011). Security consciousness in Indigenous Nigerian Houses: A Preliminary Survey of Yoruba Ethno-medical Devices. Ethno Med 5(1), 57–62. 10.1080/09735070.2011.11886392Search in Google Scholar

[9] Awolalu, J. Omosade (1979). Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites. Essex: Longman Group Ltd. Search in Google Scholar

[10] Ayoade, J. A. A. (1978). The Concept of Inner Essence in Yoruba Traditional Medicine. In Z. Ademuwagun et al. African Therapeutic Systems, pp. 125–131. Waltham. Search in Google Scholar

[11] Basden, G. T. (1921). Among the Igbo of Nigeria. Lagos: University Publishing. 10.5479/sil.115290.39088000476515Search in Google Scholar

[12] Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.). Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, pp. 241–258. New York: Greenwood. Search in Google Scholar

[13] Chriss, J.J. (2007). The Functions of the Social Bond. The Sociological Quarterly 48, 689–712. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00097.x10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00097.xSearch in Google Scholar

[14] Cohen, A. (1966). Politics of the Kola Trade: Some Processes of Tribal Community Formation among Migrants in West African Towns. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 36(1), 18–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/115812610.2307/1158126Search in Google Scholar

[15] Coomson, J. (2009). Cyber Crimes in Ghana. Ghanaian Chronicle, 4 October 2006, from http://allafrica.com/stories/200610040856.html. Search in Google Scholar

[16] Dalal, P. (2006). Wireless Security: Some Measures. Computer Crime Research Center. Retrieved June, 5, 2007, from http://www.crime-research.org/articles Search in Google Scholar

[17] Danquah, P., Longe, O. B. (2011). Cyber Deception and Theft: An Ethnographic Study on Cyber Criminality from a Ghanaian Perspective. Journal of Information Technology Impact 11, No. 3, 169–182. Search in Google Scholar

[18] Dana, D.A. (2001). Rethinking the Puzzle of Escalating Penalties for Repeat Offenders. Yale Law Journal 110, 733–783. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/79760710.2307/797607Search in Google Scholar

[19] Durkin, Keith F., Craig J. Forsyth, and James F. Quinn (2006). Pathological Internet Communities: A New Direction for Sexual Deviance Research in the Postmodern Era. Sociological Spectrum 26,(6), 595–606. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0273217060094885710.1080/02732170600948857Search in Google Scholar

[20] Dyrud, M. A. (2005). I Brought You Good News: An Analysis of Nigerian 419 Letters. Proceedings of the 2005 Association for Business Communication Annual Convention, Irvine, CA, October. Search in Google Scholar

[21] Fadipe N.A. (1987). The Sociology of the Yoruba. Ibadan: University Press Search in Google Scholar

[22] Foster, G. M. (1976). Disease Etiologies in Non-Western Medical Systems. American Anthropologist 78, 773–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aa.1976.78.4.02a0003010.1525/aa.1976.78.4.02a00030Search in Google Scholar

[23] Gaviria, A., Raphael, S. (2001). School-Based Peer Effects and Juvenile Behavior. The Review of Economics and Statistics 83,(2), 257–268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/0034653015114379810.1162/00346530151143798Search in Google Scholar

[24] Harnischfeger, J. (2006). State Decline and the Return of Occult Powers: The Case of Prophet Eddy in Nigeria. Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft (Summer 2006). University of Pennsylvania Press. 10.1353/mrw.0.0024Search in Google Scholar

[25] Jaishankar, K. (2008), Space Transition Theory of Cyber Crimes, Crimes of the Internet, Pearson, ISBN-13:978-0-13-231886-0, pp. 283–299. Search in Google Scholar

[26] Jaishankar, K. (2010). The Future of Cyber Criminology: Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal of Cyber Criminology 4, 26–31. Search in Google Scholar

[27] Kshetri, N. (2006). The Simple Economics of Cybercrime. IEE Security and Privacy. Retrieved from www.computer.org/security. 10.1109/MSP.2006.27Search in Google Scholar

[28] Longe, O. B., Chiemeke, S. C. (2008). Mediated Cyber-Crime: An Investigation of the Role of Internet Access Points in the Facilitation of Cyber Crime in Southwest Nigeria. European Journal of Social Sciences 6, 466–472. Search in Google Scholar

[29] Mbiti, S. J. (1978). Introduction to African Religion. London: Heinemann. Search in Google Scholar

[30] Melvin, A. O., Ayotunde, T. (2011). Spirituality in Cybercrime (Yahoo Yahoo). Activities among Youths in South West Nigeria. Google books. Search in Google Scholar

[31] McCall, J. C. (2004). Juju and Justice at the Movies: Vigilantes in Nigerian Popular Video. African Studies Review 47, 51–67. 10.1017/S0002020600030444Search in Google Scholar

[32] McCusker, R. (2006). Transnational Organised Cyber Crime: Distinguishing Threat from Reality. Crime, Law and Social Change 46, no. 4–5, 257–273. 10.1007/s10611-007-9059-3Search in Google Scholar

[33] McKenzie, S. (2000). Child Safety on the Internet: An Analysis of Victorian Schools and Households using the Routine Activity Approach. A Thesis submitted to the University of Melbourne, February, 2000. Retrieved on December 15 2006, from http://www.criminology.unimelb.edu.au/research/internet/childsafety/index.html Search in Google Scholar

[34] Norton Study (2012). Consumer Cybercrime estimated at $110 billion annually. www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20120. Search in Google Scholar

[35] Nurth, M.S. (2008). Taking Advantage of New Techonologies: for and against Crime. Computer Law and Security Report 24(5), 437–446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2008.07.00310.1016/j.clsr.2008.07.003Search in Google Scholar

[36] Nwolise, O.B.C. (2012). Spiritual Dimension of Human and National Security. Eighteenth Faculty Lecture Series, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan (April 26, 2012). Search in Google Scholar

[37] Oumarou, M. (2007). Brainstorming Advanced Fee Fraud: ‘Faymania’—the Camerounian Experience. In N. Ribadu, I. Lamorde and D. W. Tukura (Eds.). Current Trends in Advance Fee Fraud in West Africa, pp. 33–34. Nigeria: EFCC. Search in Google Scholar

[38] Oyenuga, A.S. Odunaike, B.A., Olaitan, M.F. (2012). Information Communication Technologies’ Time-Space Distanciation and Crime in Lagos. Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology 10, 151–163. 10.36108/NJSA/2102/01(0150)Search in Google Scholar

[39] Payne, N. (1992). Towards an Emancipatory Sociology: Abandoning Universality for the True Indigenization. International Sociology 3, 161–70. Search in Google Scholar

[40] Parker, D. B. (1976). Crime by Computer. New York: Scribner. Search in Google Scholar

[41] Ratliff, E. (2005). The Zombie Hunters: On the Trail of Cyber Extortionist. The New Yorker, (2005, October 10), pp. 44–49. Search in Google Scholar

[42] Rogers, M. (2001). A Social Learning Theory and Moral Disengagement Analysis of Criminal Computer Behaviour: An Exploratory Study. PhD Dissertation. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Manitoba. Search in Google Scholar

[43] Rubin, A. (1989). Art as Technology: The Arts of Africa, Oceania, Native America, Southern California. In A. Rubin and Z. Pearlstone (Eds.). Beverley Hills, CA, pp. 133–138. Search in Google Scholar

[44] Simpson, G.E. (1980). Yoruba Religion and Medicine in Ibadan. Ibadan University Press Search in Google Scholar

[45] Skinner, W. F., Fream, A.M. (1997). A Social Learning Theory Analysisof Computer Crime Among College Students. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34(4), 495–518. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002242789703400400510.1177/0022427897034004005Search in Google Scholar

[46] Smith, D. J. (2007). A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Search in Google Scholar

[47] Tade, O. and Aliyu, I. (2011). Social Organisation of Cybercrime among University Undergraduates in Nigeria. International Journal of Cyber Criminology 5, 860–875. Search in Google Scholar

[48] Talbot, P. A. (1923). Life in Southern Nigeria. London: Macmillan. Search in Google Scholar

[49] Thompson, R. F. (1983). Flash of the Spirit. New York: Vintage. Search in Google Scholar

[50] Warner, J. (2011). Understanding Cyber-Crime in Ghana: A View from Below. International Journal of Cyber-Criminology 5(1), 736–749. Search in Google Scholar

[51] Wolff, N. H. (2000). The Use of Human Images in Yoruba Medicines. Ethnology 39,3, 205–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/377410710.2307/3774107Search in Google Scholar

[52] Yar, M. (2005). The Novelty of Cybercrime: An Assessment In Light Of Routine Activity Theory. European Journal of Criminology 2(4), 407–27 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14773708055605610.1177/147737080556056Search in Google Scholar

[53] Vanguard (2012). Woman, 70, killed for alleged witchcraft. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/07/woman-70-killed-for-alleged-witchcraft/ Search in Google Scholar

[54] Daily Post (2012) Suspected labour party thugs attack NURTW member, PDP Candidate escapes Death in irele, Ondo state. http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/07/31/suspected-labour-party-thugs-attack-nurtwmembers-pdp-governorship-candidate-escapes-death-irele-ondo-state/ Search in Google Scholar

[55] People’s Daily (2011). Nigerian police arrest 133 suspected political thugs in northern state. Retrieved from: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7364476.html Search in Google Scholar

[56] Punch Newspapers (2012). EFCC convicts 288 Internet Fraudsters. April 17, 2012. Search in Google Scholar

[57] PM News (2011). Police Parades 19 suspected political thugs. http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/03/29/policeparade-19-suspected-political-thugs/ Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2013-9-28
Published in Print: 2013-10-1

© 2013 Institute for Research in Social Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Downloaded on 29.3.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2478/s13374-013-0158-9/html
Scroll to top button