Justice Muhammed Sani of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday, convicted a 25-year-old staff of the Ekiti State Water Corporation, Opeyemi Akinluyi, for offences bordering on cyber fraud.
Akinluyi, a native of Ijan-Ekiti in Ekiti State was convicted alongside Ajibade Emmanuel and Ezekiel Oluwaseun from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. Also convicted were Abbas Olatayo from Igbeti, Oyo State and one Kareem Quadri.
The convicts were prosecuted on separate charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before the Federal High Court and Kwara State High Court.
Upon arraignment, the defendants pleaded guilty to the charge preferred against each of them.
In his judgment, Justice Sani sentenced the trio of Akinluyi, Emmanuel and Oluwaseun to six months imprisonment each with option of fine of N200, 000 each.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the convicts’ phones and laptop, which were used to perpetrate the crime and the restitution of their various victims.
Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin while deciding the case of Olatayo and Quadri, sentenced each of the defendants to six months imprisonments.
While Olatayo was given an options of fine of N150,000 on the lone count against him, Quadri was also given an option of N150,000 fine on each of the two counts charge preferred against him.
Justice Akinpelu also ordered the forfeiture of the convicts’ phones, which were used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government as well as the restitution of their various victims.