No fewer than 11 eleven individuals have been convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment for internet fraud in Kwara State.
This followed the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) securing their convictions before Justices Mahmud Abdulgafar and Abimbola Awogboro of the Kwara State and Federal High Courts, sitting in Ilorin.
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.
According to the EFCC, all the defendants were tried before Justice Awogboro, except Jubril, who was prosecuted before Justice Abdulgafar.
The Commission noted that their offences bordered on impersonation, obtaining by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime, and internet fraud.
Count two of Yaba’s charge reads: “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 ₦7,384,750.00 (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 reads: “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. They also tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants, as well as items recovered from them at the point of arrest and sums of money traced to them – all of which were admitted as evidence.
Consequently, Justice Awogboro sentenced Yaba to nine months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone 13 and the sum of ₦200,000 to the Federal Government.
He convicted and sentenced Ayomide to nine months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine and ordered the forfeiture of US $535 and iPhone 16, being the proceeds and tools of his crime.
The judge convicted and sentenced Olajide to six months’ imprisonment without fine and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone X, Samsung A05, and US $50.
He convicted and sentenced Kadiri to 300 hours of community service (five hours per day) and ordered the forfeiture of his Infinix Hot 10 Lite to the FG.
Justice Awogboro also convicted and sentenced Juwon to 12 months’ imprisonment without fine and ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone 6, iPhone XR, Iphone 13, HP laptop, and US $500.
He handed Benefit a nine months’ jail term without fine and ordered the forfeiture of his phones and ₦ 1million, being the tools and proceeds of his crime, to the FG.
Similarly, the judge convicted and sentenced Opeyemi to six months’ imprisonment without fine and ordered the forfeiture of his phone and ₦500,000. Lasisi was convicted and sentenced to 150 hours of community service (five hours per day) and forfeited his Samsung S9.
He convicted and sentenced Michael and Abduljawad to 12 and six months’ imprisonment respectively, without fine. In addition, they restituted the sum of ₦500,000 and US $190 respectively to their victims and forfeited their phones.
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. He also restituted US $290, being the proceeds of his crime to his victim.
