Gbenro Adesina
Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin, today, sentenced a Lagos Prince identified as Oyekan Abdulbaqqi Adedoyin to six-month imprisonment for involving in advanced free fraud popularly known in Nigeria as Yahoo Yahoo.
The prince from Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, aged 25, was jailed alongside Oni Stephen Oluwaferanmi from Ilesha, Osun State.
The duo of Prince Oyekan and Oni were prosecuted on separate charges by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.
Having pleaded guilty to the charges levied against them, counsel to the EFCC, Andrew Akoja, led witnesses to review the facts of the two cases.
The witnesses, who are operatives of the Commission narrated how the defendants were arrested based on credible intelligence.
The prosecution tendered items recovered from the defendants at the point of arrest including phones, laptops and fraudulent messages printed from the defendants’ email addresses, which the court admitted in evidence.
Justice Oyinloye, while delivering judgment on the cases on Tuesday September 21, 2021, said that the court had carefully evaluated all the material evidence placed before it, the plea of guilt and the uncontroverted testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
He held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, he convicted and sentenced the defendants.
The judge sentenced Prince Oyekan to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of N150, 000. The Court also ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone and a Dell Laptop, which the convict used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.
In the same vein, Justice Oyinloye sentenced Oni to one year imprisonment with an option of fine of N350, 000.
He also ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s phone to the Federal Government. In addition, the judge ordered the convict to pay $775 as restitution to his victim through the EFCC within 78 hours or risk another six months imprisonment.
