The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction of a self-professed engineer, Oyewole Maruf Damilare, from Ifedore Local Government Area of Osun State, for cybercrime offences.

Also jailed was one Olusanya Idowu Lukman, a POS operator from Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin convicted and sentenced the duo to various jail terms, having found them guilty of offences bordering on cybercrime and possession of proceeds of illegal activities levelled against them by the Ilorin Zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The Commission arraigned Oyewole on two count charges of cheating by personation and possession of proceeds of unlawful activities, while Olusanya was prosecuted on one count charge of personation for allegedly posing as Lena Kincy on Facebook to scam unsuspecting victims.

The defendants were reportedly arrested on April 22, 2022 at Agric Estate, Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital by operatives of EFCC following intelligence reports on the activities of some internet fraudsters operating in the area.

They pleaded guilty to their respective charges.

Rasheedat Alao, an operative of the anti-graft agency, who represented the Commission in the two cases reviewed the facts of the cases and presented witnesses who are operatives of the Commission.

The witnesses, while testifying tendered the extrajudicial statements of the defendants, different brands of phones recovered from them at the point of arrest and several fraudulent messages printed from their devices, which were admitted in evidence.

Alao, thereafter, urged the court to consider the guilty pleas, the extra judicial statements of the defendants and all the exhibits tendered before it to convict the defendants as charged.

Justice Abdulgafar, while delivering judgement, said the court had carefully evaluated the evidence placed before it, the guilty plea by the defendants and all the exhibits tendered and expressed conviction that the prosecution had not only established the elements of the alleged offences against the defendants, but had proved it beyond reasonable doubt.

The trial judge sentenced Oyewole to three months imprisonment on count 1 with option of N250,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment on count 2 with fine option of N500,000.

The court ordered that one iPhone 12 which he used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of $400 US dollars, which he benefited from the illegal activities be forfeited to the Federal Government.

In the same vein, Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Olusanya to six months imprisonment with option N250,000 fine.

The judge also ordered that the iPhones 11 and Apple MacBook laptop, which the convict used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of $400 US dollars which he benefited from the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.