Court jails two undergraduates for cybercrime offences

Two undergraduate students have been jailed for cybercrime offences in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The convicts, Olamilekan Ezekiel Adebayo and Ibrahim Najeeb Omotosho are from the Kwara State University, Malete and Kwara Polytechnic, Ilorin respectively.

They were charged before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye, of the state high court sitting in Ilorin by the Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The trial judge found them guilty after their plea of guilt and having carefully evaluated the facts of the case and evidence placed before the court.

Following the pleas of guilt by the defendants, Innocent Mbachie state prosecutor urged the court to pronounce the defendants guilty and sentence them based on their admittance of guilt and evidence tendered against them.

In his judgement on the two cases, Justice Oyinloye said, ” this honourable court has carefully considered the facts and circumstances of the case, the plea of guilt entered by the defendants, the unchallenged and uncontroverted evidence of the prosecution witness.”

He said the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justice Oyinloye then sentenced Olamilekan to one year in prison with an option of N100, 000 fine and further ordered that the sum of 200 US dollars raised as restitution be forfeited to the victim through the Federal government.

He also ordered the forfeiture of a Samsung phone used as the instrument of the crime recovered during the investigation.

Ibrahim also bagged a one-year jail term with an option of N500,000 fine and forfeiture of the iPhone 12 Pro which he benefitted from the proceeds of the crime to the Federal government.

The charge sheet of Olamilekan Adebayo alias ( Deborah Amanda) revealed that “sometime in July 2021, in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did cheat by impersonation when he pretended to be one Deborah Amanda, with email account deborahamanda026@gmail.com and in that guise induced one Laboiran Dixon to part with the sum of 200 US dollars via a Zelle account and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code Law.”

Ibrahim Omotosho’s charge sheet read, ” that you, Ibrahim Najeeb Omotosho, alias (Tony Carpenter), on or about the 30th Day of April 2021, in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did cheat by pretending to be one Tony Carpenter, a white male and citizen of United States of America, with email account cap 170211960@gmail.com to obtain iPhone 12 Pro one Jennylynn Ostman, under the pretence that you were in love with her and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code Law.”