What Are the Nigerians Doing About This?
Well, not much.
The crime is pervasive in the country. The U.S. Secret Service believes that three out of every 20 telephone lines in Nigeria are directly used for 419 fraud. The Nigerian government warns people of the existence of the scam, but doesn't go much further. In 1993, they passed a bill that allows trial and prosecution of 419 scammers in absentia, with up to 10 years imprisonment.