Date: 2022-01-21

A 24-year-old undergraduate of Kwara State University, Malete, Alonge Toyyib, was on Thursday sentenced to one-year imprisonment by Kwara State High Court over offences bordering on cybercrime and possession of fraudulent funds.

Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the state High Court sitting in Ilorin sentenced Alonge to prison after the court found him guilty of the two counts levelled against him by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The anti-crime agency charged him with two charges before the Court.

One of the charges against him read, "That you, Alonge Toyyib Alao, sometime in April 2020 to April 2021 in Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did knowingly have under your control N74,753,261 paid into your Fidelity Bank Account No 63*362**** which is reasonably suspected to be unlawfully obtained."

The offence was contrary to Section 319A of the Penal Code Law and punishable under the same law.

Alonge pleaded guilty to the charge.

Following his plea, counsel to the EFCC, Rasheedat Alao, presented a witness, Kamaluddeen Yahayah, to review the facts of the case.

Yahayah, who is an operative of the EFCC, in his evidence, narrated the circumstances that led to Alonge's arrest.

Some of the items recovered from him, which included a car – Lexus 350, phone, and Apple laptop as well as the fraudulent messages printed from his email were presented and admitted in evidence at the court.

Alao urged the court to consider the testimonies of the sole prosecution witness, the "guilty plea" by the defendant, and the exhibits tendered as well as the provisions of the law to pass judgment.

Justice Akinpelu, in her judgement on the case, sentenced Alonge to six months imprisonment on each of the two counts with N100,000 as fine on each count.

The judge ordered that the Lexus 350, phone, and laptop recovered from the undergraduate at the point of arrest be forfeited to the Federal Government.