Court Jails Undergraduate For Defrauding Colleagues

A chemistry undergraduate of University of Ilorin, Ajayi Joshua Oluwatobi, has bagged nine months jail for defrauding three fellow students who were seeking hostel accommodation.

Oluwatobi was handed the conviction by Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

His journey to prison started following his prosecution by the Ilorin Zonal of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

One of the charges read: “That you, Ajayi Joshua Oluwatobiloba, in the month of November 2019, in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, did cheat by deceiving one Anjorin Oluwabukolami Eniola, a University of Ilorin student when you fraudulently induced her to pay N45,000.00 (Forty-five Thousand Naira) into the GTbank account 045262140 of one Hassan Adefemi Daniel for hostel accommodation, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 322 of the same Law.”

Justice Oyinloye found Oluwatobi guilty of all the three-count charges and aside the prison term, additionally ordered him to pay the sum of N105,000 (One Hundred and Five Thousand Naira) fine so as to serve as deterrent to others who may wish to commit similar crime.

“This honourable court is of the view that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, the court hereby finds you, Ajayi Joshua Oluwatobi guilty of Count 1, 2 and 3. You are hereby convicted for the offence,” he said. 

An EFCC statement issued on Tuesday, noted that each count attracts three months imprisonment, which runs concurrently.

“The convict ran into trouble when the University of Ilorin reported a case of defrauding three accommodation- seeking students to the EFCC,” it said.