A high court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has sentenced an official of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, to one-year imprisonment over N195million internet fr@ud.
The convict, identified as Adeyemi Israel Abiodun, is a 200-level student of Economics and Development Studies at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
He was arrested by operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on March, 30, 2022, alongside 79 others in a sting operation at Sango area of Ibadan for alleged internet fr@ud.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Wednesday, August 24, said investigations revealed that, between July 2021 and March 2022, Abiodun benefited N195, 274, 331 as a cumulative heist from cyber-fr@ud involving forgery of over 25 US banks cheques.
He was among the 40 persons convicted on separate charges before four judges of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan.
The one count charge against him reads: “That you, Adeyemi Israel Abiodun and Odaise Precious Abiola (aka Prezzy) (at large) on or about 30th March, 2022 at Ibadan, within the Ibadan Judicial Division did conspire to forge various United States of America Banks Cheques and purport same to be genuine and thereby committed the offence of conspiracy to commit forgery contrary to Section 516 and 467 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
He pleaded “guilty” to the charges filed against him by the EFCC and was convicted sentenced to one year imprisonment without the option of fine.
Furthermore, the court ordered him to pay the sum of $1,000 in restitution and forfeit a white Mercedes Benz CLA-250 with customized NANS plate number worth N16million, a gold neck chain and one ice neck chain worth N3.6million, bitcoin worth $58, 854.88, one Apple MacBook Pro 2020 Model and an iPhone 12 Pro Max to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
