A Federal High Court in Ibadan, on Thursday, sentenced an internet fraudster, Saheed Azeez, to 10 months imprisonment over impersonation and $600 fraud.
Delivering judgment, Justice Patricia Ajoku said that Azeez was convicted and sentenced based on the evidence before her and the plea bargain agreement the convict had with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ajoku added that the judgment was in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 which spelt out how a person, who entered a plea bargain agreement, should be sentenced. “It is my belief that Azeez is now remorseful of his action and willing to turn a new leaf. “However, he is sentenced to 10 months in prison, based on the agreement between him and the EFCC.
“All the proceeds of crime recovered from him are hereby forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the judge said. Earlier, counsel to the EFCC, Ibadan zonal office, Mr Mabas Maburb, had informed the court that the convict was arraigned on a one-count amended charge bordering on impersonation. Maburb added that the convict committed the crime sometime in June, in Ibadan. Testifying in the matter, Abideen Abdulmumini, the EFCC detective who investigated the fraud, said that many documents that linked Azeez with the crime were printed out from his email address. Abdulmumini further said that the convict presented himself as a citizen of the United States of America to obtain the sum of $600 from his victims. He also stated that a Del laptop and other computer materials were confiscated from him and used as exhibits. The EFCC prosecutor told the court that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 22A of Cyber Crime Prohibition and Prevention Act, 2015. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that if fully applied, anyone convicted of the crime risked seven years imprisonment.
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