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The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday convicted five foreign nationals of cybercrime.
The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, sentenced them to three years in prison with an option of N1 million fine each.
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Delivering judgment, following the convicts pleading guilty, the judge ordered the deportation of the convicts upon completion of the prison term or payment of the fine.
The convicts are among 108 foreign nationals being prosecuted by the Inspector-General of Police over charges of cybercrime, money laundering, and actions deemed a threat to Nigeria’s national security.
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The five convicts are Panupong Wanasak, Aatairat See Ni, Laongdao Saeguang, Achalar Saeyang and Galin Suphaaut. They were represented in court by defence lawyer Christiana Sylvester.
The convicts who are from Thailand were re-arraigned on three counts of cybercrime and illegally staying in the country without valid papers.
One count alleged that they entered Nigeria with a business permit of 30 days and “remained in the country on the expiration of that permit”. The offence was said to be contrary to Section 57 of the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under the same Act.
They all pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them through a Thai interpreter.
Prosecution lawyer F.G Gabriel urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly in view of their guilty plea.
He told the court that all parties entered into a plea bargain and prayed the court to adopt same as its judgement against the defendants.
Delivering judgement, Mr Nwite convicted the defendants as charged. Based on the plea agreement, he sentenced them to one year in prison on each of the three counts with an option of N1 million fine.
The judge also held that the convicts were to be deported to their country upon serving their prison term or paying the fine and charged the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure a seamless deportation.
He ruled that all gadgets and electronics devices used by the convicts to perpetrate the crime shall be forfeited to the federal government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convicts were arraigned in 2024.
They initially pleaded not guilty and were remanded in the correctional centre pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions.
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The police alleged that they operated out of Plot 1906, Cadastral Zone 807, Katampe District, Abuja, where they were running a fraudulent and unregistered gaming platform.
They were accused of aiding abetting and conspiring among themselves to commit cybercrime, an offence said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 27 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended 2024).
They were also charged with unlawful access to a computer network and input of inauthentic data, punishable under Section 13 of the Cybercrimes Act.
(NAN)
