Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
Two Kwara State High Courts sitting in Ilorin yesterday jailed five internet fraudsters over offences that bordered on cyber fraud.
Their conviction was secured by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts were Adeniyi Samson, Ezekuse kingsley Somtochukwu, Nwadei Oluwapelumi, Ibrahim Ibrahim Mobolaji and Akinola Habideen Kasumu.
The defendants pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to them.
Samson, Somtochukwu and Oluwapelumi were prosecuted before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar while Mobolaji and Kasumu were tried before Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the State High Court, Ilorin.
Rashidat Alao and Aliyu Adebayo, who prosecuted the matter for the EFCC before Justice Abdulgafar and Justice Akinpelu respectively, called witnesses through whom they tendered several fraudulent documents printed from their devices to establish the culpability of the defendants in the crime.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abdulgafar found the trio of Samson, Somtochukwu and Oluwapelumi guilty on each of the two counts against them.
The judge thereafter sentenced the trio to six months imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
However, Samson, a 300L university student would have his sentence suspended.
Nonetheless, he would forfeit $300 (Three Hundred Dollars) found to be proceed of the crime to the federal government.
On the other hand, the judge ordered the forfeiture of Somtochukwu’s Iphone 11, which was used to perpetrate the crime and a manager’s cheque of N261,00 (Two Hundred and Sixty-One Naira Only) raised as restitution to the victim with the sum of $500 that he benefited from the crime to the federal government.
In the same token, the judge ordered the forfeiture of Oluwapelumi’s Iphone 11, Dell Laptop that was used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of $170, which he benefited from the crime to the federal government.
Similarly, Justice Akinpelu imposed a prison term of six months on Mobolaji on each of the two counts with option of fine of N100,000 on each count.
According to the judge, the convict would forfeit Iphone 12 promax, which he used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of $2000, which he benefitted from the crime as well as the draft of N200,000 raised as restitution to the victim.
In the same vein, Justice Akinpelu found Kasumu guilty of the lone count against him and sentenced him to six months imprisonment with option of fine of N100,000.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of Iphone 5 used as instrument of crime by the convict.
