
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ilorin Zonal Command has convicted six suspected fraudsters accused of offences related to theft and fraud.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, presided over by Justice Evelyn Anyadike and the Kwara State High Court’s Justice Adebayo Yusuf tried the convicted on different counts charges.
Owoeye Adeyanju Ezekiel from Ibadan, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State; Idris Yekini Kayode from Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State; and Aransiola Oluwaseun Stephen from Odo-Owa, Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State are the three suspects were found guilty.
Afiu Ashimiu Adisa, Raheem Ayomide Monsur, and Abdulrahman Abubakar from Ita-Amodu, Ilorin, Kwara State were among the others arranged before the honourable court.
Following their conviction, 24 out of the 50 suspects—48 Kwara State University (KWASU) students and two Malete residents—were apprehended on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, during a sting operation by agents of the EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Command for offences related to Internet fraud, or “yahoo-yahoo.”
On his part, Aransiola was prosecuted on a one-count charge, which reads: “That you, Aransiola Oluwaseun Stephen in February 2024 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did cheat by personation when you pretended to be one Cindy Watson, a White female, based in the United States of America, and in that guise induced one Randy Driskill to send you the sum of $350 which you did receive via gift cards thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and Punishable under Section 324 of the same law.”
READ ALSO:
- Ilorin Religious Crisis: ICIR Tasks Govt. On Interfaith Dialogue
- Ilorin Durbar veritable source of foreign investments – UNESCO
- Ilorin airport reopens 24 hours after closure
In the same vein, Owoeye was also tried on a lone count, which reads: “That you, Owoeye Adeyanju Ezekiel sometime in January 2024 at Ilorin, Kwara State within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, did fraudulently impersonate one Sara Beauty vide your Instagram account: sara_lyn120 with intent to obtain from one Taylor Johnson and did obtain the sum of $80, through gift cards thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc.) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2)(b) (iv) of the same Act.”
When the charges were read to the defendants in court, who had been arraigned on separate counts, they entered pleas of guilty to each of the offences.
After the defendants entered “guilty pleas,” the Commission’s attorneys, Innocent Mbachie, Adebayo Aliyu, Charles Oni, and Rasheedat Alao, examined the case’s facts and presented the objects and statements taken from the defendants at the time of arrest that were accepted into evidence.
After taking into account the evidence presented in court and the defendant’s admission of guilt, the Justices judged the defendants guilty and imposed varied prison sentences on them.
The courts additionally mandated the forfeiture of the convicts’ brought-in cash for reparation as well as the phones and laptops they utilized as tools of their crimes to the federal government.