Yahoo-Yahoo: Kwara Poly Student, Others Sentenced To Jail

A student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Oyadiji Temitope Ridwan, and one Asimiyu Idris have been sentenced to jail over offences bordering on personation and internet fraud.

Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin convicted and sentenced the defendants to various jail terms, having found them guilty of the separate charges levelled against them by the anti-graft agency.

The charge against Oyadiji reads.

“That you, Oyadiji Temitope Ridwan, (Alias: Dave Sayer) sometime in March, 2021 at Ilorin, within the judicial division of the Kwara State High Court, did cheat by impersonation when you pretended to be one Dave Sayer, a white male vide your WhatsApp application with your number +1915209228 and in that guise communicated with one Danny Coffman whom you induced to part with property to with: $750 vide gift cards, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the penal code and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code”

Similarly, particulars of count two of the charge against Asimiyu read:

“That you, Asimiyu Idris, (Alias: Nicky Pearl), sometime between June and July, 2021 at Ilorin, within the judicial division of the Kwara State High Court, did cheat by impersonation when you pretended to be one Nicky Pearl vide your face book account and in that guise communicated with one Martin Stone whom you induced to part with property to wit: gross sum of $400 (Four Hundred US Dollars) vide Amazon Gift Cards, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 234 of the same Penal Code”.

The defendants pleaded guilty to their charges.

Following the plea of guilt entered by the defendants, Prosecuting Counsel, Andrew Akoja, reviewed the facts of the cases through the EFCC witnesses. The witnesses who are operatives of the Commission narrated how intelligence led to the arrest of the defendants. According to the witnesses, the defendants admitted committing the crime and volunteered statement during investigation.

Fraudulent messages printed from their email addresses, iphones and laptop and the extra-judicial statements made by the defendants were tendered and admitted in evidence.

Delivering judgement on the cases, Justice Oyinloye said “from the totality of the evidence placed before the court, the plea of guilt entered by the defendants as well as the extra-judicial statements where they confessed to the crime, the court believes that prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt”.

The judge, after pronouncing the two guilty sentenced Oyadiji to one year imprisonment with option of fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) while the iphone, laptop and bank draft of N309,000 (Three Hundred and Nine Thousand Naira Only) which he raised as restitution were forfeited to the Federal Government.

Similarly, Asimiyu was sentenced to one year imprisonment on count one with option of fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only) and one year imprisonment on count two with option of fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only)

The court also ordered the forfeiture of convict’s iphone to the Federal Government. He was also ordered to restitute the sum of $470 (Four Hundred and Seventy Dollars) which he benefited from the crime to his victim through the EFCC.

Also, the anti-graft agency, EFCC secured the conviction of an internet fraudster who was smiling in his mugshot has alongside nine others.

The Abuja Zonal Command of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021 arraigned and secured the conviction and sentencing of 10 internet fraudsters to various prison terms.

The convicts: Israel Kue, Ulukpo Victor Obokparo, Osondu Stanley, Habib Iko-Ojo, Precious Ani, Emmanuel Philip Ikpan, Umar Farouk Mohammed, Israel Kue, Kingsley Mathew, Ibrahim Oyolade and Taiwo Samuel, were prosecuted before Justice Hamza Mu’azu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja for offences bordering on cheating, misrepresentation, romance scam, obtaining by false pretenses and defrauding foreigners via internet.

They pleaded guilty to their respective charges. One of the charges reads:

“That you Ulukpo Victor Obokparo on or about the 25th day of June, 2021 within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja while representing yourself as one Williams Brandon, an Engineer from New Jersey, USA through the means of an email address wi***************@gm***.com carried out an illegal act to wit: inducing the duo of Helen Isean and Ida Connor of USA to deliver to you the sum of $5000 (Five Thousand USD) and you thereby committed the offence of cheating contrary to the provisions of Section 320 (b) of the Penal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja), 1990 and punishable under Section 322 of the same Act”.

Following their guilty pleas, Justice Mu’azu sentenced them to prison terms, ranging between 3 to 6 months, with option of fine of N20, 000 to N100,000.

In addition, the Court ordered the forfeiture of proceeds and instrumentalities used in committing the crimes to the Federal Government.