LAGOS – During the Yuletide season, it became the norm for ladies who commute by public buses popular as ‘danfo’ to confirm that they had taken off their delicates, otherwise known as panties. While this was not in support of some feminist claim or protest, it was to prevent against the stealing of said panties by criminals said to be Yahoo Boys.

Every day, with better access to the internet, cyber-crimes become just as attractive and innovative as crimes in the real world. That’s because the real world and the virtual worlds are becoming more closely coupled with access to faster internet, better devices, and wider knowledge. Cybercrime has become like a charging bull that gains more momentum as it charges.

In Nigeria though, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to cybercrime. At the advent of cybercrime in Nigeria, it was known as Yahoo-Yahoo, and the perpetrators were called Yahoo Boys. Today, that kind of crime has taken on a different face; it is what has metamorphosed into Yahoo plus.

Just as the term ‘plus’ depicts, there is more involved today than mere Yahoo-yahoo.

Back in the day, perpetrators only had to sweet-talk victims into parting with their money after days, weeks and even months of chatting and establishing an online relationship. Now, the case is different. The said Yahoo Boys now employ several tactics.

There have been several reports of Yahoo Boys caught with voodoo items and in ritual-like situations.

In 2016, a report by residents in Akute area of Ogun State claims that some Yahoo Boys were caught in a hotel room, chatting with a Maga (victim) via social media, while the Yahoo Boy doing the actual chatting placed his foot on a tortoise. Other claims state that many of these boys no longer bother with cultivating a false, online relationship with a Maga, they simply go all out to do money rituals and tell the world they made it through Yahoo–yahoo.

It has become quite bad that it has literarily become the national identity of Nigeria in many parts of the world.

The recent spate of violent and sinister crimes linked to Yahoo–yahoo are almost endless, with the latest being sacking ladies of their panties. These latest trends have become quite alarming.

Many youths have seen it as the new way out and have decided to step up their game from unemployment to full self-employment with cybercrime.

They not only deceive, lure and dubiously obtain money from their Magas through the internet, but they have also advanced in skill, daring and tactics.

The new fraudulent and dastardly acts of these yahoo plus fraudsters are widely practiced in Nigeria and mostly caught their victims unaware.

While Yahoo Boys mostly explore the romantic aspect of online relationships by convincing their victims to fall in love with them using any means and then trick those victims into sending them money, with Yahoo plus Boys, it is survival of the fittest as they employ diabolic means to get their victims who would enrich their pockets. Sometimes, they have physical victims whom they perform ritual acts on or with.

This latest crop of criminals become rich out of the blues and lead a luxurious life with no visible indication on how they make the money. Usually, these acts are common with students in the universities who want to earn quick money without effort.

For example, the recent picking of female panties is one of their latest additions to the craft, particularly from females between the ages of 16 and 32. It is said to be a big deal for these ritualists.

Speaking to Victoria Obong, a student of the University of Lagos, she confirmed that the stolen panties are used for money rituals and that after they are finished with the panties, the owners of the panties will lose their wombs. “It is bad over here; every girl is scared of spreading her panties outside because of these so-called Yahoo ritualists who portray themselves as Yahoo plus boys. Apart from that, some of them patrol the streets with their flashy cars waiting for sellers, and when they don’t get any they would go looking for girls on lonely roads to order them at gunpoint to pull off their panties or be shot. Hardly do you see girls wearing pants now in my hostel because of this. Even when we go out at night or even in the day we always make sure we avoid lonely roads.”

Another female, Joyce Akindele who lives in Ajegunle, Apapa area of Lagos added to the fact that it is a fun fair in that area as these panties sell for as much as N250,000, depending on the wearer. She says the buyer confirms if the wearer is a virgin or not, and if the person is a virgin, the price goes higher. “Stealing of panties is a common thing in this area, the prices for the panties depends on the wearer. I don’t know how they know who wears the panties belong to, but they are able to tell if the wearer is a virgin or not.”

She further said that in the compound where she resides, they don’t spread their underwears outside anymore and that if they ever have to for hygiene purposes, they pray on it and sprinkle holy water on it before wearing it because they don’t know who has touched it or done something to it.

According to a gynecologist who pleaded anonymity, he explained that underwears are better dried with sun and fresh air. “When you leave your underwear’s hanging in the bathroom, there is room for different things to grow in them because they remain damp for a long time. Underwears, especially female panties are better in the sun. I tell ladies to forget about what people would say when they spread them in public. Their health is the most important thing. If you absolutely have to spread them in cold clammy places, then you must be prepared to iron them. But we all know what the light situation is like in Nigeria,” he said.

Amarachi Ogele is a banker in one of Nigeria’s first generation banks, residing in an estate around Ogba, Lagos. According to her, ever since she heard the news, she and her younger ones have been hanging their underwears in their bedrooms or their bathrooms. This also includes their bras. She revealed that they have been ironing their panties for fear of ritualistic robbery. “It is no longer news that people are being recruited to now steal female panties for an attractive price now. I don’t play with my underwears and that includes my bra too. Whenever I want to wear it all I have to do is iron it. Panties are big bucks now, but God would not let them get to me.”

But apart from panties, these boys, according to reports have other means of getting to their victims. Some reports claim that they also make use of the power of compulsion, known as ‘oshole’. This charm is claimed to be used for hypnotizing victims. The ritualist puts the ring on their lip, lick it when it is time for operation.

Some ritualists also make their victims to bark like a dog. Some may also sleep with ladies and clean the woman’s vagina with either a towel or a handkerchief.

There have been victims who were taking out by these ritualists, get them drunk and have sexual intercourse with them. After the act, while the women are deep asleep, the boys use their handkerchief to wipe these women’s vagina for rituals.

Chinyere Okolo, a marketer from a reputable Nigerian company shared an unconfirmed story on Facebook of what she saw during one of her outings: a woman, who was vomiting money in the public. According to her, she didn’t know where the lady came from but she was in a state of distress. “I don’t know if it is true but I heard a Yahoo Boy has been talking to some girls within the area and it is believed he talked to the lady and must have offered the girl a large sum of money to touch her. The girl must have given in to the guy because according to her account she just received a large sum of money.” She further said that the fraudsters are referred to as ‘street boys’ or ‘everywhere stew guys’, as they often boast saying “Baba God would always provide data for subscription.” ‘Data’ is whatever is needed for the ritual and ‘subscription’ is a renewal for the ritual.

It is believed that any person who commits the act is able to get what is desired for the ritual needed and for this to happen they need a special kind of priest or occultic person to perform the ritual.

Speaking to a Muslim cleric, Muhammed Isar from Ogun State, he said that many of these youths commit these act because of unemployment in the country. “I have some of them who come to me and tell me about their ordeal. Many of them are sympathetic and it’s obvious they have problems. I am a man of God so I don’t get involved in anything diabolical. Though I have helped out with compulsion charms and that is how far I have gone in helping out. If they go further I don’t know anything about that.”

Also, Pastor Emmanuel Akindele, from The Light Ministry said all these are signs of end-time. “Why would a young man want to seek for the wealth he did not work for? This shows that the end time is near. A young boy of 24 is building a mansion; this is not right and instead of them to seek the face of God they seek for the devil who would give them this wealth for just a little while. A true man of God would never get himself involved with things like this. Only those outside the word of God that can do this.”

It is a common knowledge that many of the spiritualists who do things like these reside mostly in rural areas where they cannot be easily detected.

But thanks to some agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ofcourse the Nigerian Police Force, who have used their good offices to expose these fraudsters.

According to reports, a cyber-fraudster, who introduced himself as Sir Cash, 28, said there were different categories of Yahoo Plus – ‘Oshole’ and ‘Irapada.’ According to him, the two are used to enhance internet scam operations, adding that, “There is another

pretty odd pieces of advice to them, which includes burying live animals monthly, yearly or quarterly. Some of them have even lost loved ones because of the spiritualist and their direction which would make some of them have a change of heart. It is also common to have the Yahoo plus fraudsters show signs of mental illness or behaving like animals when they stop performing the needed ritual. In Nigeria, Yahoo plus has become a popular way of cybercrime that has not been curbed yet and despite concerted efforts to end the internet scam once and for all in the country, it has diverted the fraudsters to look other ways of finding solutions for themselves.

Government, parents, religious organisations and all stakeholders in youth development have been asked to join hands together to recover the present generation of youth from this strange business that drink blood of innocent souls.