The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), North Central Nigeria, has secured the conviction and sentencing of ten internet fraudsters to various jail terms.
On Monday, June 24, 2024, Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin convicted and sentenced five individuals to various jail terms.
The convicts are Sodiq Shehu, Ayinla Abdulwaheed Ayomide, Abdulkareem Omotosho, Ekundayo Stephen Samuel, and Ayinla Sofiu Abayomi.
The charge against Ayomide reads: “That you, Ayinla Abdulwaheed Ayomide, while acting as a PICKER between January 2022 and August 2023 in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, took possession of the sum of N5,373,000.00 (Five Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-Three Thousand Naira Only) transferred into your Zenith Bank account number: 2400818519 and FCMB Bank Account No: 4883945011. You knew this sum directly represented the proceeds of crime from persons such as Oluwatobi Babajide John, Akeem Adedeji, Adeleke Adedeji, etc., and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17(a) & (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges when they were read to them, after which prosecution counsel Innocent Mbachie prayed the court to convict and sentence them. Consequently, Justice Anyadike sentenced Shehu to four months imprisonment with an option of a N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine on each count.
Similarly, Ayomide, Omotosho, Samuel, and Abayomi were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment each with varying options of fines between N200,000 and N300,000. The court also ordered that all phones and laptops used by the convicts to perpetrate the crime, as well as various sums of money brought by them as restitution, be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Similarly, Justices Adebayo Yusuf and Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, and Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court in Ilorin, at separate sittings on Tuesday, June 26, 2024, convicted another set of five suspected internet fraudsters to various jail terms. They are Evugbemu Emoefe Emmanuel, Osi Ayomide Shitu, Alade Abiodun, Adegoke Gbolahan, and Shehu Abdugafar Bukola.
The charge against Evugbemu Emoefe Emmanuel reads: “That you, Evugbemu Emoefe Emmanuel (Alias: Lilian Trejo), sometime between November 2023 and April 2024 in Ilorin, within the judicial division of the High Court, did cheat by personation when you pretended to be one Lilian Trejo via your Facebook Messenger account and induced one Carl Perez to part with the sum of $1,300 (One Thousand, Three Hundred US Dollars) through Cash App and Gift Cards, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 324 of the same law.”
They pleaded guilty to their charges when they were read to them, after which EFCC counsel Innocent Mbachie, Andrew Akoja, and Mustapha Kaigama prayed the court to convict and sentence them accordingly. The Justices, in their separate judgments, convicted and sentenced them to various jail terms.
Justice Yusuf sentenced Emmanuel to six months imprisonment without an option of a fine and ordered that the sum of $1,330 (One Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty US Dollars), which was recovered from him, as well as his phone and laptop, be forfeited to the Federal Government. The judge also sentenced Abiodun to six months imprisonment with an option of a N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine, while Shittu received two years imprisonment with an option of a N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine. The court also ordered that the phones used as instruments of the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Similarly, Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Bukola to six months imprisonment with an option of a N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine and ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $150 (One Hundred and Fifty US Dollars) and the phone used by the convict to perpetrate the crime. Justice Anyadike, in the same vein, sentenced Gbolahan to six months imprisonment on each of the two counts brought against him with an option of a N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine on each count. The court also ordered that the convict’s iPhone 12, Samsung Galaxy S8, and MacBook laptop be forfeited to the Federal Government.
