Fashion designer, 2 others jailed for internet fraud in Kwara

Biola Azeez – Ilorin

Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on Wednesday sentenced a 24-year-old fashion designer, Muhammed Ayub, and two others to six years imprisonment for offences bordering on internet fraud and possession of fraudulent funds.

The two others are Odelade Samuel and Olowokere Jamiu

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the trio of Ayub, Odelade and Olowokere on separate charges, to which they pleaded guilty.

Count one of the charges against Odelade reads: “That you, Odelade Samuel sometime between January 2021 and December 2022 in Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court knowingly had under your control the gross sum of N3,513,549 paid into your Union Bank Account No 0123132913 which is reasonably suspected to be unlawfully obtained and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 319(A) of the penal code law and punishable under the same section”

Upon the guilty pleas by the defendants, Sesan Ola and Rashidat Alao, who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the anti-graft agency, reviewed the facts of the cases through witnesses who are operatives of the EFCC.

In his judgement, Justice Yusuf said the prosecution had established the essential ingredients of the cases to warrant the conviction of the defendants.

The Judge sentenced Ayub to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 only and ordered that one iPhone 7, one apple iPhone 12 and the sum of $700 which the convict raised as restitution be forfeited to the Federal Government. The court also ordered the convict to bring the sum of $250 as restitution

Similarly, Odelade bagged six months imprisonment on each of the two counts with an option of N100,000 only. The judge ordered that one iPhone 12 Promax, an HP laptop and a Lexus Car and the sum of N780,000 only which he raised as restitution be forfeited to the Federal Government.

In the same vein, Justice Yusuf sentenced Olowokere to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 only on each count. The court ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s iPhone 11 and the sum of $1,350 to the Federal Government.

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