A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has sentenced an Internet fraudster, Ibrahim Tunde-Akinsola, to a 12-month jail term over a US$1,750 fraud.
From Bola Ogunlayi, Ibadan
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has sentenced an Internet fraudster, Ibrahim Tunde-Akinsola, to a 12-month jail term over a US$1,750 fraud.
Justice Patricia Ajoku who delivered the judgments said was convicted based on the evidence before her and plea bargain agreement he entered into with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ajoku said:”This judgment is in line with the provisions of Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 that provides for a reduced sentence for anyone who enters a plea bargain agreement.
“Consequently, Tunde-Akinsola is sentenced to 12 months in prison for the crime.
“The sentence starts from the date he was first arrested and all the exhibits found in the possession of the convict are hereby forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria”.
Earlier, the EFCC counsel of Ibadan Zonal Office, Mr. Mabas Maburb, told the court that the convict was arraigned on a one-count amended charge bordering on impersonation.
Maburb said Tunde-Akinsola committed the crime sometimes in January in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The counsel stated that the agency’s operatives round up Tunde-Akinsola after receiving credible information from concerned members of the community.
Tunde-Akinsola was operating with a “deceptive” email address to take undue advantage of unsuspecting foreigners,the judgement disclosed..
The prosecutor averred that many dubious documents of how the convict had defrauded foreigners were printed out from his email address.
According to Maburb,an iPhone 7 and cash of US$1,750 which formed proceeds of the crime were restituted by Tunde-Akinsola.
The offence, it was ruled,contravened the provisions of Section 22A of the Cyber Crime Prohibition and Prevention Act 2015.
