An Oyo State High Court has convicted two men, Timothy Oni and Abdulwahab Muhammed, of criminal impersonation.
The court, presided over by Justice Bayo Taiwo, convicted the defendants after they pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, stated this in a statement on Thursday.
Justice Taiwo, after considering the facts of the cases and the evidence by the EFCC, held that the prosecution proved the cases and sentenced the convicts to six months of community service each.
The judge also ordered Oni to restitute the sum of $2,000 to his victim and forfeit a 2011 Mercedes Benz car, one iPhone 12 Pro Max, a Samsung Galaxy S8 phone and one iPad.
He also ordered Muhammed to pay N311,573 found in his Kuda Microfinance Bank account as restitution.
The charge against Muhammed read, “That you, Abdulwahad Oladimeji Muhammed, on or about March 9, 2021, at Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, falsely represented yourself as Jane Smith, a white lady from the United States of America, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence of impersonation contrary to Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law Cap. 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
The charge against Oni read, “That you, Timothy Oluwaseun Oni, on or about March 11, 2021, at Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, falsely represented yourself as James Tina, a white lady from the United States of America, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence of impersonation contrary to Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law Cap. 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
In a related development, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday, May 23, 2022, convicted a man, Emmanuel Odinaka, of Internet fraud.
Justice Ayo-Emmanuel sentenced Odinaka to six months’ imprisonment.
The convict was also ordered to restitute the sum of $250 and forfeit one iPhone 8 Plus to the Federal Government.
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