The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of five persons for offences bordering on cybercrime.
The five were convicted after standing trial before the Federal and Kwara State High Courts sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The convicts include Ayinla Abdulmajid, Yusuf Onimisi, Muhammed Eneye, Abdulbasit Abdulmumeen, and Victor Anibe who were arraigned on separate charges by the anti-graft agency.
Specifically, Ayinla, Yusuf, and Muhammed were prosecuted before Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, while Abdulbasit and Victor were tried before Justices Sulaiman Akanbi and Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court, respectively.
Ayinla Abdulmajid, alias Micheal Cavezza was accused of fraudulently impersonating one Michael Cavezza through his Google hangout account between March and May, 2025, with the intent to obtain from one Kirsty Reid.
The convict was accused of obtaining the sum of $1,003 in the process, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 22 (2)(b)(ii) of the cybercrime (prohibition prevention Etc.) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2)(b)(IV) of the same Act.
Similarly, the EFCC in the charge said Yusuf Onimisi, alias Mikaylah, sometime between November and December, 2024, did fraudulently impersonate one Mulan Tuition through his Telegram Account with the intent to obtain from one Phillip Lee.
Yusuf obtained $300 from the victim and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2) (b) (ii) of the cybercrime (prohibition prevention Etc.) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2) (b) (IV) of the same Act.
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charge.
Prosecution counsel, Innocent Mbachie, Sesan Ola and Mustapha Kaigama reviewed the facts of the cases by calling witnesses through whom they tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants as well as items recovered from them at the point of arrest.
The lawyers, thereafter, urged the court to convict the defendants based on the unchallenged evidence tendered by the prosecution.
The Justices found merit in the cases and pronounced the convict guilty accordingly.
In his judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced Ayinla to nine months imprisonment without an option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $702 which he benefited from the unlawful activities and one iPhone 14 pro max, Redmi phone and one HP laptop to the federal government.
The judge also sentenced Yusuf to three months imprisonment without an option and ordered that the sum of $300 he benefited from his criminal conduct and one Samsung S31 be forfeited to the federal government.
In the same vein, the court sentenced Muhammed to 400 hours of community service without an option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s HP laptop.
Justice Akanbi on his part, sentenced Abdulbasit to two years imprisonment or option N400,000 .
Additionally, the convict was ordered to sweep the premises of the Kwara State High Court for two months to be supervised by Nigeria Correctional Service probationer officer, while the sum of $145 he benefited from the criminal conduct were forfeited to the federal government alongside one iPhone 11.
Similarly, Justice Saleeman sentenced Victor to two years imprisonment, however, with an option of N600,000 as fine.
The court ordered that the sum of N4million he restituted, one iPhone 16 Promax and a Samsung phone be forfeited to the federal government.
