From Abdul Salaudeen, Ilorin
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ilorin Zonal Directorate has secured the conviction of 11 persons for offences bordering on internet fraud and cybercrime.
Among the convicts is a 20-year-old electrician, Mathew Yaba, who was sentenced to nine months imprisonment without an option of fine for offences bordering on impersonation and retention of proceeds of unlawful activities by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin.
The judge found Yaba guilty of retaining control of N7,384,750.00 and also impersonation of Raleigh Jredd.
The offence is contrary and punishable under Section 17 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.
Other convicts include Samuel Stephen Ayomide from Olamoboro Local Government Area of Kogi State; Bamidele Favour Olajide, a music producer from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State; Isah Kadir from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State; Abdulrasaq Jubril, a car spare parts seller who hails from Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The others are Samuel Peter Juwon from Ayetoro, Kogi State; Omolaiye Stephen Benefit from Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State; Kayode Emmanuel Opeyemi, Abdulrahim Lasisi from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Ugwuadu Ikechukwu Michael from Oweri North Local Government Area of Imo State and Moshood Abduljawad.
All defendants, except Jubril who was tried before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, were prosecuted before Justice Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Ilorin.
Count 2 of the charge sheet against Yaba reads: “That you, Matthew Yaba sometime between 2022 and 2025, within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, was found to have retained control of N7,384,750.00 through your Kuda Bank account number, 2046437307 which you knew to be proceeds 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”.
Similarly, the charge against Ayomide reads: “That you, Samuel Ayomide sometime in 2025, within the judicial division of this 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 Faith Jackson was caused to suffer a loss of $922 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”
When the charges were read to them, they all pleaded guilty.
Aliyu Adebayo, Andrew Akoja and Omolade Ajibola who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the commission, reviewed the facts of the cases through witnesses who are operatives of the EFCC.
They tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants, items recovered from them at the point of arrest and various amounts of money that they brought as restitution, which were all admitted in evidence.
The Justices in their separate judgments upheld the cases of the prosecution and pronounced the defendants guilty based on the admittance of guilt and the uncontroverted evidence placed before the courts.
Consequently, Justice Awogboro, sentenced Yaba to nine months imprisonment without an option of fine and ordered the final forfeiture of the convict’s iphone 13, and the sum of N200,000, which he restituted to the federal government.
On his part, Ayomide, bagged nine months imprisonment without an option of fine. He would also forfeit $535 to the federal government.
