By Correspondent in Ilorin.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, secured the conviction of Olaoye Jamiu Olarewaju, son of a former Deputy Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, over offences bordering on cybercrime.
Olaoye was convicted alongside Badmus Ridwan Moyosore, a native of Ibadan, Oyo State and one Abdulsalam Ibrahim from Malete, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, over similar offence by Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.
The trio, prosecuted on separate charge by the anti-graft agency, pleaded guilty to their various charges.
Following their pleas, the counsel to the EFCC, Rasheedat Alao, called witnesses, who are operatives of the Commission, to review the facts of the cases.
According to the witness who testified against Olaoye, the defendant fraudulently defrauded one of his victims to the tune of $2,000 while the testimony against Badmus revealed that the defendant swindled his victim $200.
In the same vein, the testimony against Abdulsalam was to the effect that the defendant was involved in “sugar baby relationship scam” and that over N18 million suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities passed through his account.
The extra-judicial statements of the defendants, fraudulent documents printed from their devices and items recovered from them at the point of arrest were tendered and admitted in evidence.
Alao, thereafter urged the court to take judicial notice of the plea of the defendants, exhibits tendered and the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and convict the defendants as charged.
In her judgment, Justice Akinpelu held that the EFCC had established its cases against the defendants and consequently, pronounced the defendants guilty.
The judge sentenced Olaoye to a term of six months imprisonment with N150, 000.00 as option of fine.
The court also ordered that iphone which he used to commit the crime and the draft of N400,000.00 which he raised as restitution be forfeited to the federal government.
Similarly, Justice Akinpelu sentenced Badmus to six months imprisonment with N100, 000.00 as option of fine and ordered the two phones and laptop used by the convict to perpetrate the crime be forfeited to the federal governmentovernment.
In the same token, Justice Akinpelu sentenced Abdulsalam to six months imprisonment with N150, 000.00 as option of fine with an order the forfeiture of a Toyota Camry Car, two phones and laptop used by the convict as instrumentality of the crime to the fderal government.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
