EFCC arrests 11 suspected Internet fraudsters, secures convictions for three love scammers

Etim Ekpimah

Operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested 11 suspected Internet fraudsters in an early morning sting operation.

The suspects:  Chidindu Michael; Timothy Emmanuel; Nweke Joseph Jeff; Francis David; Pedro Enuaghanam Nnaemeka; Promise Amesi; David Eke; Michael Okoroaha; David Achi, Justice Arugba and Collins Wedeh, were arrested on Thursday, September 16, 2021, at Ozuobo Area, off NTA Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren said, the suspects were arrested through surveillance and verified intelligence on their suspicious internet-related criminal activities.

Items recovered from them include one wine Lexus ES 350 car; six Plasma Television sets; three laptops; 10 mobile phones of different brands; one LG Home Theatre; one black and red Boom Speaker; one Hisense Speaker; one Hisense Sound Bar, 5 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards of different banks and two Apple wristwatches.

The suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.

Meanwhile, the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, September 16, 2021, secured the conviction of three serial fraudsters charged for offences bordering on cheating by personation, attempted cheating, and internet fraud.

The convicts are Ayinde Qudus Olayemi, Ademola Samuel and Abdulazeez Faruk.

Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin convicted and sentenced the defendants to various jail terms after he found them guilty of the separate charges brought against them.

The trio of Ayinde, Ademola and Abdulazeez, who were arraigned on separate charges, pleaded guilty to their charges.

Sesan Ola, Innocent Mbachie and Rasheedat Alao who prosecuted for the EFCC in the case of Ayinde, Ademola and Faruq, respectively drew the attention of the court to the plea bargain agreements entered by the defendants while tendering the confessional statements and other incriminating items recovered from the defendants during the investigation.

The counsel urged the court to convict the defendants based on the admittance of guilt, their plea bargain agreements and the uncontroverted evidence tendered before the court.

In his judgment, Justice Oyinloye held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, he found each of the defendants guilty and sentenced them.

Ayinde was sentenced to one year imprisonment on count one with option of fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only); One year imprisonment on count two with option of fine N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only) and one year imprisonment on count three with option of fine of N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only). The court, in addition ordered that Ayinde’s IPhone 12 pro max used in perpetrating the crime and the manager’s cheque (bank draft) of N450,000 (Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only) which he raised as restitution to his victims be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Similarly, the Judge sentenced Ademola to one year imprisonment on count one with the option of a fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only) and one year imprisonment on count two with an option of a fine of N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only).

He also ordered that the iPhone 11 pro, a black laptop which the convict used to perpetrate the crime and a manager’s cheque (bank draft) of N215,000 (Two Hundred and Fifteen Thousand Naira Only) raised by the convict as restitution to his victims be forfeited to the Federal Government. By the same token, Justice Oyinloye sentenced Abdulazeez to one year imprisonment with an option of a fine of N350,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only). The judge also ordered that the convict’s gold iPhone used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of $326 (Three Hundred and Twenty-Six USD) which he benefited from the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.