Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of an Ikeja Special Offences Court, yesterday, sentenced one Ayomide Ojo to one-year imprisonment for fraudulently representing himself as a woman online and defrauding people by soliciting sex.
The judge found him guilty of the offence and gave him an option of 100-hour community service, in lieu of a one-year imprisonment.
Ojo was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to a charge of being in possession of a fraudulent document, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His offence contravened the provision of Section 320 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The prosecuting counsel, Fanen Anun, told the court that the defendant, sometime in September 2023, falsely represented himself as a woman online and engaged in a dating scam. He said the defendant benefited $500 from his victims.
While reviewing facts of the case, Anun told the court that operatives of the EFCC received intelligence about a group engaged in cybercrime, which lived lavishly, and without any known means of earning a living.
He said EFCC operatives arrested the defendant, alongside others who are being tried in other courts. This came after the agency carried out a raid on their residence in Ikorodu.
“We arrested the defendant who said he was new in the ‘yahoo-yahoo’ business. EFCC operatives retrieved a Samsung Galaxy S9 from Ojo and discovered he had two email addresses that he used to represent himself as a woman and defraud the public. Officers also found fraudulent documents in the email addresses which they printed out,” Anun said.
The counsel also told the court that the defendant confessed to his offence in a statement he made while in custody, and also made an application for a plea bargain.
The defendant’s confessional statement and documents printed from the fraudulent email accounts, and the Samsung Galaxy S9 were tendered, and admitted as exhibit.
Justice Abike-Fadipe questioned Ojo on his offence. And after she was satisfied that he understood the guilty plea he made, convicted him of possessing documents containing false pretence, contrary to Section 320 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The defendant pleaded with the court for forgiveness, saying: “I know I have offended (sic). And I will not go back. I am just pleading for forgiveness,” he said.
The defendant’s counsel, T. E. Beabo, also prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.
In her judgement, Abike-Fadipe sentenced him to one year in prison with an option of 100 hours of community service.
The judge ordered that the Samsung Galaxy S9, which he used to commit the crime, be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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