Kwara State High Court presided over by Justice Adenike Akinpelu, has sentenced Salami Yusuf Adetola, who claimed to be a United States of America Lottery Agent to 6 months imprisonment for offenses bordering on impersonation and cybercrime.
Adetola was sentenced alongside AbdulKareem Abdulmojeed Olamilekan, a graphic designer, and Nwabudike Emmanuel Lawrence over similar offenses.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had arraigned the now-convicted 3 persons on separate charges, to which they pleaded guilty.
Following the guilty plea by the defendants, counsel to the EFCC, A. Alao called witnesses who are operatives of the commission and tendered evidence which included devices used in perpetrating the crimes and various fraudulent messages printed out of the defendants’ phones and laptops, to establish the alleged offenses against them.
After the review of the facts of the cases, Alao urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged.
In her judgment, Justice Akinpelu held that the prosecution had proved its cases beyond a reasonable doubt.
Adetola was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment with N200,000 as an option of fine, Olamilekan was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment with N300,000 as an option of fine.
While Lawrence bagged a prison term of 6 months on each of the 2 counts against him, which shall run concurrently with an option of a fine of N200,000 on each count.
Reporting by Ali Rabiu; editing by Muzha Kucha