Justices Mahmud Abdulgafar and Abimbola Awogboro of the Kwara State and the Federal High Courts, respectively, sitting in Ilorin convicted and sentenced eleven fraudsters arraigned before them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after finding them guilty of involving themselves in internet fraud.
The convicts are, Mathew Stephen Yaba, Samuel Stephen Ayomide, Bamidele Favour Olajide, Isah Kadir, Abdulrasaq Jubril, Samuel Peter Juwon, Omolaiye Stephen Benefit, Kayode Emmanuel Opeyemi, Abdulrahim Lasisi, Ugwuadu Ikechukwu Michael and Moshood Abduljawad.
All the defendants were tried before Justice Awogboro, barring Jubril who was prosecuted before Justice Abdulgafar. Their offences bordered on impersonation, obtaining under false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime and internet fraud.
Count two of Yaba’s charge read “That you, Matthew Stephen Yaba, sometime between the year 2022 and 2025, within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, was found to have retained the control of the gross sum of N7,384,750.00 (Seven Million, Three Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty Naira) through your Kuda Bank account number 2046437307 which you knew to be proceed of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) and (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004.”
Ayomide’s charge read “That you, Samuel Stephen Ayomide, sometime in 2025, within the judicial division of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, sent electronic messages on your Telegram Account; CPN Goat, where you materially misrepresented facts that you specialise in creating credit bureaus scores on Credit privacy Number (CPN), under which reliance one Faith Jackson was caused to suffer loss of $922 (Nine Hundred and Twenty -Two US Dollars) through Bitcoin and thereby committed a computer-related fraud, contrary to and punishable under Section 14 (2) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act 2015.”
They all pleaded “guilty” to their charges, following which prosecution counsel, Aliyu Adebayo, Andrew Akoja and Omolade Ajibola reviewed the facts of the cases through witnesses and tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants, including items recovered from them at the point of arrest and the sums of money, traced to them, all of which were admitted in evidence.
Consequently, Justice Awogboro sentenced Yaba to nine months imprisonment without option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone 13, and the sum of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) to the federal government.
He convicted and sentenced Ayomide to nine months imprisonment without option of fine. In addition, he forfeited the sum $535 (Five Hundred and Thirty-Five United States Dollars) and his iPhone 16, being the proceeds and tools of his crime, respectively to the federal government.
He convicted and sentenced Olajide to six months imprisonment without option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone X, Samsung A05 and the sum of $50 (Fifty United States Dollars), being the tools and proceeds of his crime, respectively to the federal government.
He convicted and sentenced Kadiri to 300 hours of community service, at five hours per day and ordered his forfeiture of his Infinix Hot 10 Light to the federal government.
Justice Awogboro also convicted and sentenced Juwon to 12 months imprisonment without option of fine, and ordered his forfeiture of his iPhone 6, iPhone XR, Iphone 13, HP laptop computer and the sum of $500 (Five Hundred United States Dollars), being the tools and proceeds of his crime, respectively to the federal government.
He handed Benefit a nine months jail term without option of fine. In addition, he forfeited his phones and the sum of N1million, being the tool and proceeds of his crime, respectively to the federal government.
He convicted and sentenced Opeyemi to six months imprisonment without option of fine. In addition, he forfeited his phone and the sum of N500,000, being the tool and proceeds of his crime to the federal government.
Lasisi was convicted and sentenced to 150 hours of community service, at five hours per day and forfeited his Samsung S9, being the tool of his crime to the federal government.
The judge convicted and sentenced Michael and Abduljawad to 12 and six months imprisonment, respectively, without option of fine. In addition, they restituted the sum of N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) and $190 (One Hundred and Ninety United States Dollars), respectively to their victims and forfeited their phones, being the tools of their crimes to the federal government.
On his part, Justice Abdulgafar convicted and sentenced Jubril to six months suspended sentence and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone 12 to the federal government. In addition, he is to restitute a total sum of $290 (Two Hundred and Ninety United States Dollars), being the proceeds of his crime to his victim.
