Nigerian undergraduate jailed for Internet fraud

Justice N.E. Maha of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, convicted one Ojo Ayomide for internet fraud and sentenced him to three months imprisonment.

Mr Ayomide’s road to jail began when the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, investigated his alleged involvement in internet fraud. The 22-year-old accounting undergraduate of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, was charged with one-count bordering on cybercrime.

The charge reads: “That you, Ojo Olarewaju Ayomide, sometime in 2019 at Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State impersonates Scot, a Civil Engineer based in Miami, Florida, USA with intent to gain advantage for himself and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 22(2)(b)(ii)of the Cybercrimes Prohibition (Prevention) Act 2015 and punishable under section 22 (2)(b)(iv)of the same law.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charge when it was read to him.

The counsel to the EFCC, Maryam Hayatudeen, thereafter, informed the court of a plea bargain agreement with the defence and urged the trial court to adopt same.

Defence counsel, Charles Abalaka, raised no objections, and pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.

“He will not repeat the offence again, and will not go back to any crime,” he assured.

In convicting him, the trial judge gave him an option of fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira), ordered him to “depose to an affidavit of undertaking to be of good behaviour”, and ruled that all items recovered from him, including a Samsung Galaxy S9, should be forfeited to the federal government.