Glory Ebomah
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction of a 26-year-old forex trader, Kolawole Temidayo Joshua and two others for offences bordering on internet fraud.
The two others are Abdullahi Isiak and one Daniel Roland Orji.
The convicts, Joshua, Isiak, and Orji, were arraigned on Monday, October 10, 2023, on separate charges of one count each before Justice Mahmoud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High sitting in Ilorin.
The charge against Joshua read: “That you, Kolawole Temidayo Joshua, sometime between April and May 2023 at Ilorin within the Judicial Division of the High Court, did cheat by personation, when you pretended to be one Mia Phillips vide your Google Voice account: denissefranptonphm85@gmail.com and induced one Daniel Murphy, a.k.a Wagba Wealth and Danny, to part with a gross sum of $400 (Four Hundred US Dollars) through Gift Cards and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code”.
Head, Media & Publicity, EFCC, Dele Oyewale, said the convicts pleaded guilty to their respective charges, prompting the court to adjourn for judgment.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, EFCC counsel, Muinat Bello and Isabel Adeniran while reviewing the facts of the cases, tendered exhibits including phones, extrajudicial statements and money which they brought as restitutions by the defendants, which were admitted in evidence. Thereafter, they prayed the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Justice Abdulgafar after that convicted and sentenced them. Joshua was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option of a fine of N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira only) and ordered that one iPhone 12 and the sum of $200 (Two Hundred United States Dollars) be forfeited to the federal government.
The court also sentenced Isiak to six months imprisonment, which is to be suspended and ordered that his iPhone 12 Promax used as an instrument of crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Equally, Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Orji to six months imprisonment with an option of a fine of N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only). At the same time, his iPhone 6 and the sum of $250 (Two Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars) were forfeited to the Federal Government.
The convicts entered the Correctional Centre when they were arrested by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC for internet-related offences.
They were charged to court and convicted.