December 10, 2021

A Federal High Court, sitting in Ilorin, on Thursday, sentenced two suspected internet fraudsters, Onyeanu David, and Anthony Obumneme, to Correctional Centre over offences bordering on cyber fraud.

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), secured the conviction.

The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Sani, said the court had carefully considered the plea of the defendants, their statements and plea bargain agreements.

Sani said that the defendants were guilty of their respective charges.

He sentenced David to one year in prison, with N200,000, as an option of fine.

The court ordered that the convict should forfeit the sum of US$150 and iPhone 11, the proceeds from the crime, to the federal government.

Similarly, Obumneme was sentenced to six months in prison, with N300,000 as an option of fine.

The convict should also forfeit the sum of US$300, which he benefited from the criminal activity and iPhone 12 Pro, used to perpetrate the crime to the federal government.

The two convicts were prosecuted on separate charges of one count each.

The first defendant, David, is a POS operator, who specialises in theft, by stealing from his customers, through the internet, while Obumneme, the second defendant, was one of the 30 ‘Yahoo Boys’ arrested on Sept. 19, by EFCC, during a sting operation on selected hostels at the Kwara state University, Malete.

Upon arraignment, the two defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges.

Following their guilt plea, Sesan Ola and Rashidat Alao, who prosecuted for the Commission, drew the attention of the court to the plea bargain agreement entered by the defendants, with the Commission.

The prosecutors urged the court to consider the extra-judicial statements of the defendants and exhibits tendered from the bar, as well as the provisions of the law to convict the defendants. (NAN)