Court jails four Internet fraudsters in Enugu

Glory Ebomah

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal Command has secured the convictions of four internet fraudsters before Justice I.M Buba of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu on charges bordering on impersonation and obtaining money under false pretences.

The convicts are:  Onah Chiemerie, Arinze Ugochukwu,Chukwuorji Chukwubuike and Eke Kingsley Nnamdi.

The charge against Nnamdi reads, “That you Eke Kingsley Nnamdi sometime in 2022 in Enugu within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently impersonated one, Lucy Robinson, with a Caucasian Picture as profile picture via your Tecno Spark7 Phone, with intent to obtain money from unsuspecting foreign nationals, mostly men and in order to gain the advantage of yourself and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (3) (a) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act,2015 and punishable under Section  22 (4) of the same Act”.

All four defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them. Justice Buba sentenced them to one-year imprisonment with an option of a fine of N1, 000,000 (One Million Naira) each.

The fines are to be paid into the Treasury Single Account of the Federal Government. They are to forfeit their phones which will be auctioned by the EFCC within six months and the proceeds paid into the Federal Government Consolidated Account.

In a related development, another internet fraudster who Justice Buba convicted on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment with an option of One Million Naira fine. His phone is to be auctioned by the EFCC and the proceeds and the fine be paid into the TSA of the Federal Government of Nigeria.