A 28-year-old member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, serving in Igara Local Government Area of Edo State, Adamu Shaibu, has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment over offences bordering cybercrime and possession of fraudulent funds.
Shaibu, an indigene of Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State was convicted alongside four others: Olasupo Abdullateef Olawale, from Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State, Aguh Henry Chicherem from Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, one Ridwan Abiodun Abdulganiyu and Qozeem Shuaib from Ilorin West local Government Area of Kwara State, before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, October 17, 2022 arraigned the defendants on separate charge, to which they all pleaded guilty.
Count one of the charge against Adamu reads:
“That you, Adamu Shaibu, between April and August, 2021 in Lokoja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did retain the control of the sum of $164 USD through a cashapp you fraudulently obtained from one Baraman, which you knew to be proceed of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) & (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
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Rasheedat Alao and Aliyu Adebayo who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the Commission tendered the statements and items recovered from the defendants in evidence and urged the courts to convict them as charged.
Justice Sani sentenced Adamu to three years imprisonment on each of the three counts brought against him with option of 100 percent of what he benefited. The judge ordered that the convict’s two mobile phones and a draft brought by him as restitution be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge also sentenced Olasupo to three years imprisonment on each of the two counts preferred against him with option of fine of N1,043,171 on Count One and N10,840,574.86 on Count Two.
The convict, according to the judge shall forfeit his two phones and one MacBook, which he used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.
Aguh on the other hand, bagged two years imprisonment or a fine of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only). He is also to forfeit his 2014 Toyota Camry Car, Mac iPad pro, Samsung S9 and iPhone 6S.
Equally, Justice Sani sentenced Ridwan to a prison term of two years with option of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine and ordered the forfeiture of one infinix phone, which he used as instrumentality of the crime.
For Qozeem, Justice Yusuf sentenced him to six months imprisonment with an option of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine.
