Five Suspected Internet Fraudsters Bag Six Months Imprisonment in Kwara

 

An Ilorin High Court in Kwara State on Tuesday sentenced five suspected internet fraudsters to six months imprisonment without an option of fine.

The convicts are Olamide Ijisesan, Ogundowole Tolulope, Abdullahi Abubakar,  Chilaka Dickson and Olayiwola Azeez.

The conviction of the affected suspects was based on the charges  filed by the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ilorin zonal office over their alleged offences bordering on internet fraud and other fraud-related offences.

The charge against one of the convicts read: "That you, Olamide Ijisesan ( Javier Cheryl) sometime in April 2016 in Ilorin,  Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this court cheated by pretending to be one Javier Cheryl, a white Caucasian female, with yahoo account,  javiercheryl@yahoo.com, and fraudulently induced one Javier Hernandez to deliver the cumulative sum of $350 to you, and thereby committed an offence contrary and punishable under section 325 of the penal code law."

 

All the suspects pleaded guilty to their separate charges leveled against them by the anti-graft body.

Prosecuting counsel led by Mr. Blessing Akinsola told the court that the defendants have approached the Commission for plea bargain agreements, and urged the Judge to convict them according to the agreement.

All the defence counsel, however, confirmed the position of the prosecution.

All the defendants were convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment in their separate charges brought against them before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye and Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar of the state High Court in Ilorin.

Arriving at the judgment, the court said the evidence of the prosecution was not challenged or controverted by the defendants.

"This court hereby convicted and sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment," the Judge said.

The court, however, ordered that items, including phones, laptops and monies recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the federal government, and that the sentence is without an option of fine.