Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, July 2, 2020, convicted and sentenced an Internet fraudster, Olawale Ayomide Fadoju to 12 months imprisonment.
The convict, who hid under a pseudonym ‘April Rozell’ to dupe his victims online, was found guilty of criminal impersonation in a one count amended charge filed against him by the Ibadan Zonal Office of the EFCC.
The offence runs contrary to Section 22 (2)(b) (i & ii) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention e.t.c) Act, 2015.
Fadoju pleaded guilty to the charge following which prosecution counsel, Simon Ibekwute, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
Beside the jail term, the convict will also reimburse to his victim the sum of $750 and forfeit his iPhone 6 phone being proceeds of crime to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In a related development, the EFCC on Thursday arraigned 78-year-old Alhaji Sheik Rauf Temitope Mustapha for alleged N25m land fraud.
He was arraigned before Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, on a 27-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and issuance of dud cheque.
The victim, Akibest En-Konsult Limited, had alleged in a petition that the self-styled Muslim cleric collected the said sum for the procurement of 23 acres of land but failed to deliver it.
After agreeing to refund the money, he issued a dud cheque for a first installment refund of N3m.
One of the charges reads, “That you, Alhaji Sheik Rauf Temitope Mustapha on or about the 30th of October, 2017 within the Ibadan Judicial Division of this honourable court did issue a Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC cheque No. 00146244 dated the 31st October, 2017 in the sum of N3,000,000 to one Arkibest En-Konsult Limited in settlement of your financial obligations to them, which cheque upon presentation within three months of issuance was dishonoured by your bankers for lack of sufficient funds in the account to which its drawn and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(b) of the dishonoured cheques (offences) Act, Cap D11, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2014.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges, prompting prosecution counsel Dr Ben Ubi, to ask the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in EFCC custody pending the determination of his bail application.
The judge granted the prayer of the prosecution and adjourned hearing on the bail application till Tuesday, July 7, 2020.
