And yet, the digital persona linked with young Nigerians has started to change markedly in recent years given several success stories in the country’s fledgling tech ecosystem over the last decade. Nigerian tech startups, innovating to solve many of the country’s systemic problems—from digital payments to online education—have attracted the most funding across Africa last year from major investors.

Nigerian software developers have also become widely sought after beyond the country’s shores, partly prompting a $100 million dollar bet on African development talent by software giant, Microsoft.

But even in Nigeria, local police have often “profiled” young men with laptops as online fraudsters as an excuse for harassment and extortion. This has led to significant protests and crowdfunding legal aid by the burgeoning tech community.

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