By Ayorinde Olukun/Abuja
Two Nigerian federal courts sitting in Lagos have sentenced 15 Chinese, two Filipinos and one Pakistani to various jail terms after they pleaded guilty to offences bordering on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
They were arraigned on separate charges bordering on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud before Justices Chukwujekwu Aneke, Ayokunle Faji and Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos
In a statement by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, EFCC identified the suspects as: Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Long Long, Zhang Hua Zhai, Lin Hao Bo, Chen Fusheng, Chen Dong Dong, Wang Gong Lin, Pan Cai Yu, Huang Ren Jian, Zhang Xiao Lei, Khurram Shahzad, Chen Yuan, Wu Yong An and Chen Xin.
The suspects, who are among the 792 suspects arrested by operatives of the EFCC for alleged cyber-terrorism at a high rise building in Lagos some months ago were convicted and jailed on Thursday.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Caselyn Pionela, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
They all pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to them.
In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Spiff Owede, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Chinenye Okezie, Ebuka Okongwu, B.M Isah and Nambam Mutfwang respectively prayed the court to convict the defendants and also order the forfeiture all the exhibits recovered from them.
The judges found them guilty of the charges and convicted them accordingly.
All the convicts were sentenced to one year imprisonment, with a fine of N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira).
The judge also ordered that upon completion of their sentences, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, should ensure that they are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days.
The judge also ordered that the items recovered from them be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
