The Makurdi Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of the duo of Adegunwa Oluwaseyi Ayuba and Moses Hamidu on separate one-count charges before Justice N.I. Afolabi of the Federal High Court, sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The convicts were arrested by the Makurdi Zonal Command of the commission sometime in 2021 for cyber-fraud-related activities in Makurdi, Benue State.
The charge against Adegunwa read: “That you, Adegunwa Oluwaseyi Ayuba, sometime in June 2021, in Makurdi, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly had in your possession the sum of N1,500,000.00 in your Access Bank Account number 0697192323 which you knew indirectly represents Mr. Fanen Anun Cosmas’ proceeds of a criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act”.
The charge against Moses reads: “That you, Moses Hamidu sometime on or about 28 January 2023, at Lafia Nasarawa State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did send a fictitious message on your email and Google accounts to foreign nationals pretending to be Lydia Martin in order to obtain financial benefit for yourself, a fact which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(3) of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, and punishable under the same Section”.
Both men pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them by the Commission.
Consequently, Justice Afolabi convicted and sentenced Adegunwa to one year imprisonment and ordered him to restitute the sum of N1,500,000 being the proceeds of the crime to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convict is to further forfeit his iPhone 12 Pro Max, which was the instrument used in perpetrating the crime, and an Acura Car with registration number Lagos FST 667GK to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He will, in addition, pay a fine of N500,000 only to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Similarly, Justice Afolabi convicted and sentenced Moses to one year imprisonment or a fine of N100,000.
