Kwara court jails brothers, one other for internet fraud

KWARA State High Court sitting in Ilorin, on Tuesday, sentenced two siblings and one other to four months imprisonment for internet fraud and cheating.

The Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged the three to court for offences bordering on cheating and internet fraud.

The suspects include two brothers of the same parents, Olaogun Seun, Olaogun Abidemi and Ojor Alex.

One of the charge reads: “That you, Olaogun Seun, Olaogun Abidemi and Ojor Alex sometimes in March 2019 or thereabouts at Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court agreed among yourselves to do an illegal act to with: cheating by impersonation and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 of the penal code law and punishable under section 97 and 324 of the same law.”

The three accused persons during their arraignment had on Monday this week pleaded guilty to the four-count charge levelled against them by the anti-graft body.

ALSO READ: Adeleke Certificate Saga: Court reserves judgment in PDP appeal

Counsel to EFCC, Nnaemeka Omawa, told the court that “the defendants had prior to their arraignment, approached the commission for a plea bargain agreement, we have considered it, bother the prosecution and the defendants have come up with the terms in line with section 276 of the administration of the criminal justice act, the accused persons during their extrajudicial statements have confessed to the crime.”

Defence counsel, Taofeek Alubarika, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying that his clients had shown remorse on what they did.

Delivering his judgement, Justice M. Abdulgafar, sentenced the trio to four months imprisonment effective from April 15, 2019, adding that the sentence is without the option of fine and it will run concurrently.

He also ordered the defendants to forfeit all exhibits recovered from them to the Federal Government.