Date: 2021-11-06

Federal High Court, Ilorin on Wednesday convicted and sentenced one Ajewole Ayomide Stephen, said to be a former employee of LG company over offences bordering on cybercrime.

In a related development, Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin also imposed various prison terms on one Salami Hammed Adetayo, a self-styled lottery agent from Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun state and one Nurudeen Ibrahim, a native of Ilorin, Kwara state over similar offence.

The convicts were prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They all pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

Innocent Mbachie prosecuted for the EFCC in the case of Ajewole, while Andrew Akoja represented the commission in the case involving Adetayo and Ibrahim.

The two counsels urged the court to consider the plea of guilt entered by the defendants, the extra-judicial statements volunteered by them and all the exhibits tendered to convict the defendants as charged.

In his judgment, Justice Mohammed Sani of the federal high court sentenced Ajewole to a prison term of six months with an option fine of N200,000.

According to the court, "the convict is to forfeit the sum of $100, which he benefited from the criminal activity and a Samsung phone which was used to commit the crime to the Federal Government."

Similarly, Justice Akinpelu sentenced Adetayo to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of N150,000. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the sum of N616,500 raised as restitution by the convict, his iphone 11 promax as well as his Samsung S8 plus, which were used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.

The judge in the same vein sentenced Ibrahim to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of N200,000 and ordered the forfeiture of his infinix hot 8 phone, which was used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.