Crime & Court
17 Internet Fraudsters Convicted in Oyo, Ogun {Photos}
The Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction and sentencing of seventeen (17) internet fraudsters to various jail terms.
They were jailed between January 8 and 28, 2024 after being arraigned before Justice Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, and Justice A.A. Babawale of the Ogun State High Court, sitting in Abeokuta on a separate lone count charge each.
The convicts are Akinbode Abiodun, Samad Tijani Owolabi, Ademola Olabamiji Quadri, Evewiekpoamare Tivere Jackson, Adeagbo Stephen Adegbenro, Adesanya Olamilekan Dare, Yusuf Saka Olaoluwatobi, Akinbode Adedolapo Joshua, Musa Ayinde Olorunnisola and Lawal Mohammed Segun.
Others are Moses Bitrus Bugama, Odude Kehinde Ayomipo, Bashiru Quadri Adeyinka, Ochoche Silas Ochola, Nurudeen Olamilekan Quam, Afeez Adewale Jimoh and Olowookere Ademola Sobbur.
Contained in a statement by the commission’s Head, Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, one of the charges read: “That you Adesanya Olamilekan Dare ‘M’ on or about 24th May 2023, at Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated by representing yourself to be a white man by the name Daryl Huffman from United States of America to one Angie Shepard, through your Facebook account with email address: daryhuffman1960@gmail.com, and other pretences, which pretences you knew to be false, thereby committed offence of personation contrary to Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
They all pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to them.
Consequently, facts of the cases were reviewed by the prosecution counsels as indicting documents, and other incriminating materials were tendered as shreds of evidence before the courts. Prosecution counsels further prayed to the courts to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
Upon the prayers of the prosecution counsels, Justice Babawale convicted and sentenced Sobbur to one-year imprisonment without an option of fine. Also, Justice Adetujoye convicted and sentenced Olorunnisola to two months imprisonment; and Jimoh, Quam, Ochola, Adeyinka, Ayomipo, Bugama, Segun, and Olaoluwatobi to one month jail term each.
Furthermore, Joshua, Dare, Adegbenro, and Abiodun were convicted and sentenced to two weeks imprisonment each without an option of fine while Owolabi, Quadri, and Jackson bagged two weeks of community service each.
The courts also ordered that the convicts restitute their various victims, including Owolabi who is to pay the sum of N11, 749, 823.36 (Eleven Million, Seven Hundred and Forty-nine Thousand, Eight Hundred and Twenty-three Naira, Thirty-six Kobo) as restitution.
Items forfeited by the convicts to the Federal Government of Nigeria included one gold colour Lexus ES 330 with Registration number: FKG 184 HZ, one unregistered silver colour Toyota Corolla 2006 model, one black colour Honda Pilot 2004 model with registration number: LSR 783 HW and Chassis number: 2HKYF18464H598117 and one black Lexus ES 300 2002 model with registration number: APP 27 GT with chassis number: JTHBF30G020048119 among others.
All the convicts bagged their imprisonment when they were arrested by operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Command of the EFCC for internet-related activities. They were thereafter charged to court and convicted.
In a related development, the Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force handed over four suspected internet fraudsters to the Ibadan Zonal Command of the EFCC on January 26, 2024.
The suspects are Abiodun Ajayi, Salako Saheed, Qudus Owolabi, and Abiodun Ridwan.
They were arrested in Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State following actionable intelligence on suspected fraudulent internet-related activities.
Items recovered from them include one unregistered Toyota Camry, one gold colour Toyota Camry with Registration number: APP 192 CB, two laptops, and five mobile phones among others.
They would be charged in court as soon as investigations are concluded.
Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has issued a public summons for former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to appear in court to respond to a fresh 16-count indictment.
The summons requires Bello to attend court on October 24 for his arraignment, alongside co-defendants Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.
The public summons was ordered following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In her ruling, Justice Anenih directed the EFCC to publish the summons in a widely circulated newspaper to ensure proper notification.
Also, the court instructed the EFCC to post copies of the public summons at Bello’s last known address and in conspicuous locations within the court premises.
The EFCC has reported difficulties in serving the charges, which were filed on September 24, alleging that Bello and the two co-defendants committed a criminal breach of trust involving a staggering ₦110.4 billion.
A Police Inspector, Mohammed Bulama, attached to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 41 in Yobe State, has been arrested for allegedly killing a 39-year-old civilian, Abdulmalik Dauda, during a confrontation in Damaturu, the state capital.
The incident, which occurred on September 29, 2024, was sparked by a heated argument between Bulama and Dauda over “uncleared transactions” in the Zango area of Damaturu. The argument escalated, leading Bulama to fatally stab Dauda in the chest.
In a statement, the Yobe State Police spokesperson, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed Bulama’s arrest and announced that an investigation into the homicide case had been launched.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed, has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident involving Inspector Mohammed Bulama,” Abdulkarim said.
He further disclosed that the officer has been placed in custody, pending internal disciplinary action and prosecution.
CP Ahmed condemned the actions of the officer, extending his condolences to the family of the victim.
He also assured the public that justice would be served swiftly in accordance with the law.
The Lagos State Police Command has summoned three officers accused of extorting N1 million from members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the Surulere area of Lagos.
Footage of the incident, which went viral on social media late Friday, shows the officers confronting the corps members, reportedly over the absence of a physical copy of a driver’s license. The video was shared by social media user Oluyemi Fasipe, who claimed that the officers threatened the corps members with firearms and forcibly took them to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, the Area C Command of the Lagos State Police, where they allegedly extorted the sum of N1 million.
“Dear @BenHundeyin, Your officers today in Surulere extorted 1 million naira from three corps members,” Fasipe wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the KAFARU OLUWOLE TINUBU HOUSE AREA C POLICE COMMAND of the @LagosPoliceNG where they were robbed.”
Fasipe added that the entire incident stemmed from the corps members’ inability to present a physical copy of a driver’s license, a situation he described as “evil.”
In one of the videos, the officers are seen inspecting the vehicle’s documents, with the situation escalating as additional officers arrived. One officer can be seen entering the car and demanding that the corps members stop recording the incident, while also prohibiting them from contacting their families.
In response, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the officers involved have been summoned, and an investigation is underway.
“The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced,” Hundeyin wrote on X. “We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the State Headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial.”
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