The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of five individuals for offences bordering on cybercrime before both the Federal and Kwara State High Courts sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State.
In a statement by the Head, Media and Publicity of the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, it was disclosed that the convicted persons are Ayinla Abiodun Abdulmajid, Yusuf Abdulazeez Onimisi, Muhammed Zayad Eneye, Abdulbasit Abdulmumeen, and Victor Onucheyo Anibe.
They were arraigned on separate charges by the EFCC.
Specifically, Ayinla, Yusuf, and Muhammed were prosecuted before Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, while Abdulbasit and Victor were tried before Justices Sulaiman Akanbi and Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court, respectively.
For instance, the charge against Ayinla reads:
“That you, AYINLA ABIODUN ABDULMAJID (Alias: Michael Cavezza) sometime between March and May, 2025 within the Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did fraudulently impersonate one Michael Cavezza via your Google Hangout account with the intent to obtain from one Kirsty Reid and did obtain the gross sum of \$1,003 (One Thousand and Three USD) thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2)(b)(IV) of the same Act.”
Similarly, the charge against Yusuf reads:
“That you, YUSUF ABDULAZEEZ ONIMISI (Alias: Mikaylah) sometime between November and December, 2024 within the Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did fraudulently impersonate one Mulan Tuition via your Telegram account with the intent to obtain from one Phillip Lee whom you obtained \$300 (Three Hundred US Dollars) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2)(b)(IV) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges.
Prosecution counsel, Innocent Mbachie, Sesan Ola, and Mustapha Kaigama reviewed the facts of the cases by calling witnesses through whom they tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants as well as items recovered from them at the point of arrest.
The lawyers, thereafter, urged the court to convict the defendants based on the unchallenged evidence tendered by the prosecution.
The Justices found merit in the cases and pronounced the convicts guilty accordingly.
In his judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced Ayinla to nine months’ imprisonment without an option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of the sum of \$702 (Seven Hundred and Two United States Dollars), which he benefited from the unlawful activities, and one iPhone 14 Pro Max, a Redmi phone, and one HP laptop to the Federal Government.
The judge also sentenced Yusuf to three months’ imprisonment without an option of fine. The judge ordered that the sum of \$300 (Three Hundred United States Dollars), which he benefited from his criminal conduct, and one Samsung S31 be forfeited to the Federal Government.
In the same vein, the court sentenced Muhammed to 400 hours of community service without an option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s HP laptop.
Justice Akanbi, on his part, sentenced Abdulbasit to two years’ imprisonment or an option of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only). Additionally, the convict was ordered to sweep the premises of the Kwara State High Court for two months, to be supervised by a Nigeria Correctional Service Probation Officer, while the sum of \$145 (One Hundred and Forty-Five United States Dollars), which he benefited from the criminal conduct, was forfeited to the Federal Government, along with one iPhone 11.
Similarly, Justice Saleeman sentenced Victor to two years’ imprisonment or an option of N600,000 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira Only). The court ordered that the sum of N4 million he restituted, one iPhone 16 Pro Max, and a Samsung phone be forfeited to the Federal Government.
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