Two Internet fraudsters jailed in Ibadan

By Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

Maiku Abdulakeem and Yomi Samson were on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 convicted and sentenced to different jail terms at the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division for internet fraud.

The duo was being prosecuted by the Ibadan zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a one-count charge of criminal impersonation each.

Abdulakeem was sentenced to three months imprisonment after Justice P. I Ajoku declared him guilty of a one-count amended charge of criminal impersonation preferred against him by the EFCC.

The convict, through his lawyer, had earlier approached the Commission for a plea bargain agreement on terms that he would plead guilty to the charge and be sentenced to three months in prison.

The terms also included the condition that Abdulakeem returns to his victim the sum of $200 and also forfeit his Techno phone to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

After pleading guilty to the amended charge, prosecution counsel, Mabas Mabur, urged the court to convict Abdulakeem accordingly. The commission’s prayer was granted as the court jailed the Abdulakeem, declaring that the sentencing takes effect from March 8, 2019 when he was initially arrested by the commission.

In addition to the restituted sum, which he was said to have done through the Federal Government, the convict will also forfeit to the government his Techno phone, being proceeds of his fraudulent act.

Samson was sentenced to eight months imprisonment after Justice Joyce Malik found him guilty of criminal impersonation, the one-count amended charge for which he was arraigned after sealing a plea bargain agreement with the commission.

According to the amended charge sheet, Samson (a.k.a Becky Wellington and Amanda Lucero) sometime in 2019 in Ibadan, fraudulently impersonated by representing himself to be Becky Wellington, via Facebook Account to one Chris and thereby committed an offence Contrary to Section 22 (2) and punishable under section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act,2015.

The court also ordered that he restitutes a sum of N48,000 (Forty-Eight Thousand Naira Only), being benefit he derived from his fraudulent act and forfeit his Tecno Spark handset to the Federal government of Nigeria.