Court jails 30 internet fraudsters in Oyo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibadan Zonal Directorate, on Thursday, secured the conviction and sentence of 30 Internet fraudsters before Justices Ladiran Akintola, Adebisi Adetujoye and K.B. Olawoyin of the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan.

The Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement in Ibadan, the state capital, on Thursday.

The convicts are, “Gbadega Ayomide, Ojo Oluwatomiwa, John Ade, Ezekiel Damilare, Usman Hammed, Ogunjobi Oluwadunsin, Abdulrauf Adekunmi, Ariyo Iyanu, Ahmed Tajudeen, Ayomide Adedara, Oyewale Kayode, Charles Nneji, Obaoye Isaac, Olisemeka Anakweze, Ojo Makanjuola and Taiwo Goodness.”

Others are “Bolarinwa Gbolahan, Olawuni Samuel, Segun Balogun, Charles Olayode, Sule Rotimi, Sodade Tolulope, Adeyemo Olabode, Akinnawonu Raphel, Ayanda Oluwaseyi, Adeniyi Oluwatosin, Olorunosebi Alabi, Okorie Favour, Akande Babatunde and Siyanbola Ibrahim.”

They were prosecuted on separate one-count charges that bordered on impersonation, obtaining by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime and possession of fraudulent documents.

The charge against Ibrahim read, “That you, Siyanbola Ibrahim, “m” sometimes in June 2022 in Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud one Austin Frazier via Facebook messenger did falsely represent yourself as Vivian Harding, a female from Chicago, United State of America, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committed the offence of personation, contrary to Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 30, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”

All the defendants pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they read to them, prompting prosecution counsel, Modupe Akinkoye, Oluwatoyin Owodunni, Chidi Okoli, Sanusi Galadanchi, Lanre Suleiman, Mabas Mabur, Shamsuddeen Bashir, David Olubode and A.M. Aliyu to pray the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.

Justice Akintola convicted and sentenced “Oluwatosin to one-year imprisonment or to pay a fine N150, 000.00; Oluwaseyi to six months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N100,000; Raphael to three months jail term or to pay a fine of N50, 000.00.”

Justice Akintola also convicted and sentenced “Favour, Olabode, Tolulope, Gbolahan, Goodness, Makanjuola, Nneji and Isaac to six months community service each or to pay N100, 000.00 fine, each.”

Others convicted and sentenced by Justice Akintola are “Ibrahim, Alabi and Babatunde who bagged three months community service each or to pay N30, 000.00 fine, each.”

Justice Olawoyin, on her part, convicted and slammed Ayomide, Oluwatomiwa, Ade, Balogun, Olayode and Rotimi with one-year imprisonment each or to pay a fine of N50, 000.00, N100, 000.00, N100, 000.00, N200, 000.00, N150, 000.00, and N200, 000.00 respectively.

Also convicted and sentenced by Justice Olawoyin is Samuel who got a six-month jail term or to pay a fine of N100, 000.

Justice Adetujoye convicted and sentenced Damilare, Hammed, Oluwadunsin, Adekunmi, Iyanu, Kayode and Anakweze to two months of community service each. Adedara bagged one month of community service. Their sentences are without an option of fine.

Though Justice Adetojoye convicted Tajudeen, she cautioned and discharged him.

Besides their sentences, all the convicts forfeited items recovered from them which included money, phones and a Lexus 350 car with registration number: FKJ – 320 – HW recovered from Anakweze to the federal government. In addition, Anakweze was ordered by the court to make a restitution of N8, 731, 000.00 to his victim.