Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin and Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti
The Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of three persons charged before a Kwara State High Court on offences bordering on internet fraud and other fraud related offences.
Similarly, the Ibadan zonal office of the EFCC yesterday arrested 30 suspected internet fraudsters.
The suspects were apprehended at different locations within the city of Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, during an early morning raid carried out by operatives of the anti-graft agency.
Those convicted in Ilorin are Apata Oluwakayode, Yusuf Rasheed and Muhammed Ademola. They were convicted and sentenced to six- months imprisonment after pleaded guilty to a one-count charge preferred against them by the EFCC before a court Presided over by Justice Sikiru Oyinloye.
After reviewing the facts of the case when the defendants realised the evidence of the prosecution, they approached the commission for a plea bargain agreement.
Oyinloye, in sentencing the accused persons, also ordered them to forfeit some of the items, including Black HP laptop and phones recovered from them during investigations to the Federal Government
The sentence is without an option of fine.
The convicts have been taken to Madala Prison Custody in Ilorin to complete their jail terms, which commenced from July 9, 2019.
The Ado-Ekiti operation was sequel to a deluge of intelligence reports available to the Commission on their alleged fraudulent activities.
According to the reports, many people have fallen victim to the tricks of the suspects, who exploit their dexterity on the use of the internet to allegedly commit crime.
Ranging between the ages of 18 and 27 years, 11 of the suspects claimed to be undergraduates, while others said they are self-employed in various vocations.
Items recovered from them include eight exotic cars, laptops, mobile phones and several documents suspected to contain information used to access their victims.
The suspects are already providing useful information to aid further investigations. They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
