In a sweeping crackdown on cybercrime, Justices A.N. Erhabor and W.I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court, sitting in Benin City, have convicted and sentenced 34 individuals for their involvement in internet-related fraud between May 29 and June 4, 2025.
The convicts, arraigned on separate one-count charges by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were prosecuted for offences bordering on obtaining by false pretence, unlawful possession of fraudulent documents, and retention of proceeds of crime.
All 34 individuals pleaded guilty to their respective charges when arraigned, prompting EFCC prosecution counsels, including F.A. Jirbo, I.M. Elodi, I.K. Agwai, K.Y. Bello, Ibrahim Al-Amin, M.S. Dahiru, Salihu Ahmed, Bala Rabah, and Faisal Ibrahim, to urge the court to convict and sentence them.
Defence counsels pleaded for leniency, citing remorse and a promise of reformation from the accused persons.
Delivering judgment, Justice Erhabor sentenced 26 of the convicts, including Ogbeide Osayande Bright, George Michael, and Asazobro Kindness, to two years imprisonment each or an option of a N200,000 fine.
Justice Aziegbemhin, in a similar ruling, handed down two-year sentences or N200,000 fine options to eight other convicts, including Asamonye Davis Chibudion, Efosa Imasuen, and Fortune Innocent.
As part of the court’s judgment, all convicts were ordered to forfeit mobile phones, laptops, and funds in their bank accounts, proceeds traced to their fraudulent activities, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
They were also mandated to sign undertakings committing to good behaviour henceforth.
The convictions follow a sting operation by the EFCC, triggered by actionable intelligence linking the individuals to various forms of cybercrime. The operatives apprehended the suspects across different locations in Edo State, after which investigations led to their prosecution and eventual conviction.
The EFCC continues to warn that internet fraud, popularly known as “Yahoo Yahoo,” will be met with the full weight of the law as the Commission remains resolute in cleansing the digital space of criminality.
