Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, convicted and sentenced eight Filipino nationals to one year imprisonment each for crimes related to cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
The convicted individuals: Beverlyn Casino, Mae Eribal, Mary Grace Dela Cruz, Jamal Polea, Tricia Castro, Rai Camara, Cherry De Leon, and Danica Jarapan, were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate charges of possessing fraudulent documents linked to criminal cyber activities.
According to court documents, one of the charges against the convicts stated that in December 2024, Beverlyn Casino and others willfully accessed computer systems in a coordinated effort to destabilise Nigeria’s economic and social infrastructure.
The prosecution alleged that the accused recruited Nigerian youths to engage in identity theft and impersonate foreign nationals online, all with the aim of securing illicit financial gain.
Their actions were found to contravene Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.
When the charges were read in court, all eight defendants pleaded guilty.
In response, the EFCC’s counsel, N.K. Ukoha, urged the court to convict them as charged. Delivering judgment, Justice Owoeye sentenced each defendant to one year in prison with an option of a ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira) fine.
In addition to the custodial sentence, the court directed the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), to facilitate the deportation of the convicts to the Philippines within seven days of completing their prison terms.
All electronic devices recovered during the investigation were also ordered to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The eight were part of a broader crackdown by the EFCC in December 2024, when 792 suspected internet fraudsters were apprehended during a massive raid in Victoria Island, Lagos. Following investigations, the suspects were charged and prosecuted accordingly.
