By Elor Nkereuwem

January 18, 2011 02:34AM
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has demanded the extradition of a 26-year old Nigerian, Olaniyi Makinde, in connection with e-mail scams currently valued at about USD800,000.

A source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the FBI is particularly interested in Mr. Makinde, who is currently standing trial in Ondo State, because of the peculiarity of the scam method which involved remotely breaking into the accounts system of an online payroll company in California, Intuit Inc.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the EFCC, Femi Babafemi, declined to speak in details about the case but our source also said that the EFCC and the FBI have been working together on this case since last year adding that while the FBI would like to try Mr. Makinde in the US, the EFCC want him tried in Nigeria.

Amongs other charges in the 23-count charge brought against the 26-year old, the EFCC said that Mr. Makinde managed to manipulate the American online payroll system to deposit cash in his Intercontinental and Ecobank accounts in Nigeria.

“He installed malicious codes in several victims’ personal computers with which he fraudulently stole their bank information to steal $600, 000,” an official document obtained by NEXT said.

“Because of that boy, three FBI agents came to Nigeria in October. They wanted to see the person that could carry out this deal offshore,” our source at the EFCC said.

The accused, Mr. Makinde, who also goes by the aliases Olaniyi James and Andrea Bradley, recently graduated from the University of Ado Ekiti with a degree in Economics and is scheduled to take part in the compulsory National Youth Service scheme.

He however remains in the custody of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency which said that if convicted of the over 20 count charges brought against him, Mr. Makinde could serve as much as 60 years in jail.