Jacob Lilian, the first prosecution witness in the prosecution of Ling Yang, a Chinese national, has described how she was lured into cyberfraud through a job search.

Lilian told Justice D. I. Dipeolu at the Federal High Court in Lagos that the job she found through a WhatsApp group required her to chat with European customers daily.

She said that the job did not require her to submit any credentials but she was asked to visit 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos, where Genting International Co. Limited, the company was located.

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She narrated to the court that Yang and others, who were her employers, monitored her conversations with the clients and would take over them once they sensed progress.

“As of November 2024, I was in search of a job and so I joined a WhatsApp group called ‘Job Update’, which was where I got to know about the job that stated customer service and only an address written as No 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos,” Lilian told the court.

“On getting there I was not asked to present any CV or documentation, and when I got in, I was required to sit in front of a computer. I thought I was about to have an online test, but rather I did a speed limit test that was set to 30 and I got 28.”

Lilian also said that they changed her name to ‘Alani Thomas’ and would closely monitor her and others’ activities on and off the premises.

She said the firm also prevented her attempt to resign from the job.

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“On the script, there was a name, Alani Thomas, and I was asked to read the script further and to get familiar with any customer assigned to me and chat with them,” Lilian recounted.

“The WhatsApp group is being monitored by the employers, and once names are exchanged, and I start to get to know the customer, by the third day of chatting with the customer, once they are at ease with me, I will be asked to stop chatting with the customer and then the employers will take over the chatting.

“We were always escorted by security officials from the office to the accommodation and we were never allowed to leave the office premises. Before we start working for the day, we have to submit our phones.”

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arrested Yang, Lilian’s employer, alongside 791 others on December 10. They are on trial for cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud.

The prosecution requested an adjournment to submit further evidence. Justice Dipeolu adjourned the case until April 11.