Etim Ekpimah
Justice A. A Isiaka of the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kaduna has convicted and sentenced two internet fraudsters to four years imprisonment.
The fraudsters: Ibrahim Dyeris, (alias Kyala Ford and Mathew McConaughey) and Daniel Chukwuemeka Emodi were jailed on Monday, November 20, 2023, after pleading guilty to one-count separate charges bordering on impersonation raised against them by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC.
This was contained in a statement issued by Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, 21 November 2023 and made available to newsmen.
The charge against Dyeris reads; “That you Ibrahim Dyeris (a.k.a Matthew McConaughey), male, between the months of April and September 2023 in Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, impersonated one Matthew McConaughey on ‘Facebook’ when you claimed to be a woman in the United States Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 142(1) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.”
They both pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.
Based on their pleas, prosecution counsel M. Lawal prayed to the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Justice Isiaka after that convicted Dyeris and Emodi to two years imprisonment each with an option of a fine to the tune of N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only) each. They also forfeited the phones they used to commit the crimes to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convicts started their journey to the Correctional Centre when they were arrested by operatives of the Commission for internet-related offences. They were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted.