Glory Ebomah
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction of one Pelumi Oluwatimileyin Sunday, an air conditioner technician, over offences bordering on cybercrime.
Pelumi was sentenced alongside three others over a similar offence. They are Uloko George Ojonugwa, a student of Federal University, Lokoja; Godspower Fatodun Sesan from Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti South-West Local Government Area of Ekiti State and one Blessing Tope Abejide.
According to Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, the quartet of Pelumi, Uloko, Godspower and Blessing were prosecuted on separate charges before Justice Muhammed Sani of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin.
They all pleaded guilty to their respective charges.
Following their pleas, Innocent Mbachie and Sesan Ola who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the EFCC reviewed the facts of the cases. They tendered the extra-judicial statements of the defendants, phones and laptops recovered from them at the point of arrest and all the fraudulent messages printed from their devices, which the court admitted in evidence.
The prosecuting counsel urged the court to convict the defendants in line with the guilty plea entered by them, their confessional statements and all the exhibits tendered.
Justice Sani in his judgement on Monday, June 27, 2022, said the court was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its cases beyond reasonable doubt and pronounced them guilty.
Consequently, the judge sentenced Pelumi to three years imprisonment with an option of N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine.
Godspower bagged two years imprisonment with an option of N324, 817 (Three Hundred and Twenty-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventeen Naira) fine. The court also ordered that the phones, which the convict used to perpetrate the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Uloko was equally sentenced to three years imprisonment with the option of N739,468.00 (Seven Hundred and Thirty-Nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Eight Naira Only) fine.
The court also sentenced Blessing to one-year imprisonment on count one with the option of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine and three years imprisonment on count two or a fine of one hundred per cent of what he benefited.