Investigative journalist and publisher David Hundeyin has alleged that the presence of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Nigeria is driven primarily by political considerations rather than efforts to combat cybercrime .
In a post shared on X, Hundeyin claimed that Nigeria is not acting as a fully sovereign country and alleged that the Nigerian president’s relationship with the United States forms part of the reason for the FBI’s presence in the country .
Hundeyin rejected the characterisation of relatively small-scale online fraud, including gift-card scams, as serious cybercrime. He contrasted such activities with sophisticated attacks involving critical infrastructure, financial institutions and major technology companies .
He cited examples of hackers potentially compromising electricity-grid systems, penetrating banking networks and deploying ransomware against senior technology executives.
The investigative journalist also criticised the description of Nigerian internet fraudsters as sophisticated “cybercriminals,” arguing that many of them engage in relatively unsophisticated forms of fraud.
“A Yahoo Boy with sagging pants and brown teeth who scams $500 gift cards out of lonely old white women is not a ‘cybercriminal,'” Hundeyin wrote, using deliberately provocative language .
He further argued that the FBI would have little reason to travel to West Africa solely to pursue such offenders when similar fraudsters exist in the United States.
“It’s 100% political,” Hundeyin concluded .
Hundeyin, however, did not provide evidence in the post to substantiate his allegations that the FBI’s presence in Nigeria is politically motivated or that its activities have no connection to cybercrime.
The claims come against the broader backdrop of law-enforcement cooperation between Nigeria and the United States on transnational fraud, cybercrime and other criminal investigations.
Hundeyin has previously made similar assertions, including claiming that President Bola Tinubu works for the CIA . In a podcast appearance, he described his investigation of the Nigerian president as revealing him to be a “convicted U.S. drug dealer and CIA asset” . However, these characterisations remain contested, as the 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving Tinubu was a civil matter, not a criminal conviction .
The investigative journalist currently lives under political asylum protection in Ghana following his departure from Nigeria . He has previously raised concerns about threats to his safety over his reporting on Tinubu.
