Kwara Court Sentences Varsity Student and Three Others to Prison for Internet Fraud

Justice Suleiman Akanbi of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced a student, Akanbi Akorede Afeez, to two years in prison on Monday, December 9, 2024, for internet fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) revealed in a statement on Tuesday, December 10, that Afeez had been arraigned on a single charge related to internet fraud.

The charge reads: “That you, Akanbi Akorede Afeez (a.k.a Erdis) between February 2023 or thereabout Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly induced one Dinero Enviado, a white man to send you gift cards worth the sum of Five Hundred and Fifty One Dollars when you knowingly pretended and represented yourself to be one Erdis, a white lady who is in a romantic relationship with him and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 321 and punishable under section 324 of the Penal Code Laws of Northern Nigeria.”

Similarly, on Monday, December 9, 2024, the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured the conviction of three additional suspects for internet fraud before Justice Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin.

The convicts, identified as Oladejo Ibrahim Abiodun, Yusuf Adewale Gbadeyan, and Adeoye David Oluwatimileyin, were arraigned on separate one-count charges to which they all pleaded guilty.

For instance, the charge against Adeoye reads: “That you, Adeoye David Oluwatimileyin sometime in 2024, in Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did cheat by personation when you pretended to be one Sierra and, in that guise, induced one J. Miguel Montaya to send you $300 to you under the guise of a romantic relationship and punishable under section 321 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under section 324 of the same Laws”

Upon the defendants’ pleas, EFCC counsels Rasheedat Alao and Victoria Igbodo reviewed the facts of the cases by presenting witnesses and submitting the extra-judicial statements of the defendants. They also introduced as evidence items recovered from the defendants during their arrests, along with the proceeds gained from their criminal activities.

After reviewing the facts of the cases, the court found the defendants guilty and sentenced them accordingly.

Justice Saleeman sentenced Abiodun to one year in prison or a fine of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira). Additionally, his iPhone 13 Pro and the sum of $100 (One Hundred United States Dollars) were ordered to be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The judge also ordered Abiodun to restitute $400 (Four Hundred Dollars) to his victims through the EFCC.

Similarly, Justice Saleeman sentenced Gbadeyan to six months in prison or a fine of N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira). The judge also ordered the forfeiture of $300 Canadian dollars, one iPhone 12, and a Samsung phone, which were used as instruments of crime, to the Federal Government.

Justice Saleeman also sentenced Oluwatimileyin to eight months in prison or a fine of N250,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira). Additionally, the judge ordered the forfeiture of $300 (Three Hundred Dollars) and one iPhone 12, which were recovered from the convict at the time of arrest, to the Federal Government.

Afeez was also ordered to sweep and clean the premises of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin for two weeks, in addition to forfeiting his iPhone 14 Pro Max and HP laptop, which were used to commit the crime, to the Federal Government.

All of the convicts received their prison sentences after being arrested by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for internet-related fraud. They were subsequently charged and prosecuted in court.