A 25-year-old boutique owner, Muhammed Soliu, from Woru, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, has bagged an 18 month jail term over offences bordering on internet fraud.

He reportedly benefitted over N28m from the illegal internet business he was involved in.

Justice Ibrahim Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin found Muhammed guilty on the three-count charges levelled against him by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

He consequently pronounced a prison term of 6 months on each count, to run concurrently.

Muhammed’s journey to prison started on August 2, 2022, when operatives of the EFCC, while acting on intelligence on the infamous activities of some internet fraudsters in Ilorin, the state capital traced him to his house located at the Oke-Ose area of the metropolis, where he was arrested.

A statement by the Media Unit of the anti-graft agency in Ilorin on Friday said investigations into the case by the Commission revealed that Muhammed, in the course of his illegal deals benefited over N28 million, part of which he used to build a house, establish a boutique and purchase a Toyota Camry Car.

The defendant pleaded guilty when the three-count charges were read to him.

Justice Yusuf, while sentencing the convict, fined him N100,000 on each count.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of a 3 bedroom bungalow located at Yangamu, Oke-Ose, Ilorin, a Toyota Camry Car with registration number KSF 846 HG; 78 pieces of new clothes recovered at his boutique; one standing fan; the sum of N1,482,516.90 proceeds of the crime found in the convict’s bank account and the two phones, which he used to perpetrate a crime to the Federal Government.