Two Kwara State High Courts sitting in Ilorin, on Tuesday, sentenced
five persons to six months’ imprisonment each for committing internet
fraud and other fraud-related offences.
The convicts are Olamide Ijisesan, Tolulope Ogundowole, Abdullahi
Abubakar, Chilaka Dickson and Azeez Olayiwola.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ilorin zonal
office, had charged the convicts for internet fraud and other
fraud-related offences.
The accused persons were convicted and sentenced to six months’
imprisonment for separate charges brought against them.
Four of the accused persons were tried and convicted by Justice
Mahmood Abdulgafar, while the fifth accused person, Ogundowole, was
convicted by Justice Sikiru Oyinloye.
The charge against one of the convicts read, “That you, Olamide
Ijisesan, aka Javier Cheryl, sometime in April 2016 in Ilorin, Kwara
State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, cheated by
pretending to be one Javier Cheryl, a white Caucasian female with the
Gmail account, , and fraudulently induced one Javier Hernandez to
deliver the cumulative sum of $350 to you, thereby committing an
offence contrary to and punishable under Section 325 of the Penal Code
Law.”
The convicts pleaded guilty to the separate charges levelled against
them by the anti-graft body.
The prosecution, led by Mr Blessing Akinsola, told the court that the
accused persons had approached the commission for plea bargain
agreements and urged the judge to convict them according to the
agreements.
The defence counsel confirmed the position of the prosecution.
In arriving at the judgement, the court said the evidence of the
prosecution was not challenged or contradicted by the defendants.
“This court hereby convicts and sentences each of the accused persons
to six months’ imprisonment,” Justice Abdulgafar said.
He also ordered that phones, laptops and money recovered from the
convicts should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
