Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Internet fraud has migrated from the streets into the classrooms. In Oyo town, Oyo State, secondary school students are glamorising yahoo-yahoo, and the data confirms what teachers already fear: moral disengagement is the single strongest predictor of pro-cybercrime attitudes, while students with three or more fraud-involved peers are seven times more likely to view cybercrime favourably. This study examines the socio-legal and moral dimensions of youth cybercrime among young people in Oyo town, with a specific focus on the role of Christian ethical formation as a protective factor. The study is scoped to five secondary schools in Oyo town; Alaafin High School, Oranyan Grammar School, Olivet Baptist High School, Isale Oyo Commercial Secondary School, and School of Science Oyo, and to youth in Oyo town more broadly, with implications extending to Oyo State and the broader Nigerian context. Its significance lies in addressing a critical gap: the near-total absence of digital ethics in the national curriculum, inadequate juvenile provisions in the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015, and the church's failure to engage the moral challenges of the digital age with pastoral specificity. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with 25 participants (students, parents, educators, church leaders, and law enforcement officials) and a structured questionnaire administered to 260 SS2 and SS3 and NCE students. Findings reveal that peer influence, weakened family oversight, absence of digital ethics education, and legislative gaps collectively drive youth involvement in internet fraud. Most significantly, students at Olivet Baptist High School where Christian ethical teaching is deliberately integrated into institutional life recorded substantially lower moral disengagement scores and far more negative attitudes toward cybercrime than peers at all other schools, demonstrating that intentional Christian ethical formation is an empirically measurable protective factor. The study recommends that NERDC integrate a compulsory digital ethics syllabus into the secondary school curriculum; that the National Assembly amend the Cybercrimes Act 2015 to include juvenile-specific diversion provisions; that the EFCC establish structured school liaison programmes across Oyo State; that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) deploy cybercrimespecific ethical education in churches and school chaplaincies; and that the Olivet Baptist model be documented and commended to other schools, including government institutions, nationwide. Addressing youth cybercrime demands not only legal and curricular reform, but a moral formation strategy, one the church, the school, and the state must pursue together.

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