A 20-year-old electrician, Mathew Yaba, was on Wednesday sentenced to nine months imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin presided by Justice Abimbola Awogboro having been found guilty of cybercrime.
A statement by the head of Media and Publicity, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Dele Oyewale, on Wednesday said Yaba and 10 others were among those whose conviction were secured by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the anti-graft agency for offences bordering on Internet fraud and cybercrime.
Yaba, according to the statement, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment without option of fine on offences bordering on personation and retention of proceeds of unlawful activities by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin.
The judge found Yaba guilty of retaining control of the gross sum of N7,384,750.00 and also impersonation of one Raleigh Jredd.
The offence is contrary and punishable under section 17 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.
Other convicts include Samuel Stephen Ayomide from Olamoboro Local Government Area of Kogi State; Bamidele Favour Olajide, a music producer from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State; Isah Kadir from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State; Abdulrasaq Jubril, a car spare parts seller who hails from Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The others are Samuel Peter Juwon from Ayetoro, Kogi State; Omolaiye Stephen Benefit from Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State; Kayode Emmanuel Opeyemi, Abdulrahim Lasisi from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Ugwuadu Ikechukwu Michael from Oweri North Local Government Area of Imo State and Moshood Abduljawad.
All defendants, except Jubril who was tried before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, were prosecuted before Justice Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Ilorin.
Count 2 of the charge against Yaba reads:
“That you, MATTHEW STEPHEN YABA sometime between the year 2022 and 2025, within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, was found to have retained the control of the gross sum of N7,384,750.00 through your Kuda Bank account number 2046437307 which you knew to be proceed of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) and (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004.”
Similarly, the charge against Ayomide reads:
“That you, SAMUEL STEPHEN AYOMIDE sometime in 2025, within the judicial division of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, sent electronic messages on your Telegram Account; CPN Goat, where you materially misrepresented facts that you specialise in creating credit bureaus scores on Credit privacy Number (CPN) under which reliance one Faith Jackson was caused to suffer loss of $922 through Bitcoin and thereby committed an computer-related fraud contrary to and punishable under Section 14 (2) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act 2015.”
When the charges were read to them, they all pleaded guilty to their respective charge.
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