Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, on Monday sentenced a Lagos-based 20-year-old boy, Oke Gideon, to 30 days imprisonment having found him guilty of offences bordering on romance scam and Internet fraud.
The long arm of the law caught up with Gideon on May 4, 2021, when he was arrested by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, following intelligence reports on his nefarious activities.
A statement signed by Ayodele Babatunde, Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC in the zone said that upon arrest, Gideon was profiled and volunteered statements, admitting to committing the crime. In his confessional statement dated May 6, 2021, Gideon admitted that he engaged in dating scam, love scam, and other internet fraud related offences.
The boy was consequently arraigned in court on Friday, July 2, 2021 on two counts, to which he pleaded guilty.
Count one of the charge reads, “That you, Oke Gideon (aka Jenna Cherry) between August 2020 and September 2020 in Ilorin defrauded and obtained $150 (One Hundred and Fifty Dollars) worth gift from one Bradley Miller under false pretense that he is Jenna Cherry, a white female from Las Vegas, United States of America, which you knew to be false.
The offence, the prosecution alleged was contrary and punishable under Section 1 (3) of Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related Offences Act, 2006.
Following his plea, counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola, led one Sarah Audu, an operative of the Commission who narrated how Gideon was arrested based on actionable intelligence on the activities of internet fraudsters operating within Ilorin metropolis.
She tendered the confessional statements of the convict as well as fraudulent messages printed from his email, which were all admitted in evidence by the Court.
In his judgment, Justice Abdulgafar convicted and sentenced Gideon based on his confessional statement, his plea to the charge and the exhibits tendered against him before the court.
However, the Judge gave the convict an option of fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) and ordered that his iPhone 6 and HP laptop which were used as instruments in the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.