Kaduna courts jail four internet fraudsters

Eric Patrick

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Kaduna Zonal Command, has secured the conviction and sentence of four internet fraudsters before Justices A.A Bello and A.A. Isiaka of the state high courts and R.M. Aikawa of the federal high court in the state.

The EFCC disclosed this in a statement shared on its Facebook page on Friday. 

The convicts are Stephen Destiny Osaro, Yakubu Suleiman, Salisu Abubakar, and Mohammed Alamin Isah.

Osaro and Suleiman who were prosecuted on one count separate 

charge of impersonation were convicted and sentenced by Justice Bello, while, Abubakar and Isah were prosecuted on separate one-count charges of cheating and impersonation, respectively, and were convicted and sentenced by Justices Isiaka and R.M Aikawa.

The charge against Osaro read, “That you Stephen Destiny Osaro (a.k.a Layla Evans), male, sometime in March 2024, at Applegate Hotel, karji, Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, 

fraudulently impersonated one Layla Evans (a white woman)on Facebook, and in such assumed character cheated one Coopland, an Australian citizen of the sum of $100 and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Kaduna State Penal Code law,2017.”

 

That of Salisu reads,  “That you Salisu Abubakar (a.k.a Latrina Brown Jones) (M), between January and March 2024, at Kaduna with the jurisdiction of this honorable court, cheated one Scot Williamson of the total sum of N100,000.00  when you pretended to be Latrina Brown Jones; a white woman living in Garden City, Michigan, USA via Facebook an online social media application which you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 308 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law of 2017 and punishable under Section 309 of the same law.”

 

They all pleaded guilty to their charges, prompting prosecution counsel M.E Eimonye in Osaro and Suleman’s case and M.J Argungu in both Abubakar and Isa’s case to pray the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.

 

Osaro and Suleman were sentenced to five years imprisonment by Justice Bello or to pay a fine of N400,000.00 and N350,000.00 respectively.

The fraudsters forfeited their phones to the federal government.

 

Abubakar bagged five years imprisonment from Justice Isiaka or to pay a fine of N350,000.00 and was asked to forfeit his

 iPhone 11 Pro to the federal government.

 

Isah got two years imprisonment from Justice Aikawa or to pay a fine of N150,000.00.

 Isah was asked to forfeit his iPhone 13 to the federal government.