NYSC Member, 4 Others Jailed For $164 App Fraud

Adamu Shaibu, a 28-year-old National Youth Service Corps member serving in Igara Local Government Area of Edo State, has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment in Ilorin. 

Shaibu was said to have used a cashapp to fraudulently obtain from one Baraman the sum of $164 USD.

He was convicted alongside four others over offences bordering on cybercrime and possession of fraudulent funds.

The four others are Olasupo Abdullateef Olawale, Aguh Henry Chicherem, Ridwan Abiodun Abdulganiyu and Qozeem Shuaib.

All five defendants were arraigned on separate charges to which they all pleaded guilty.

Count one of the charge against Adamu reads: “That you, Adamu Shaibu, between April and August, 2021 in Lokoja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did retain the control of the sum of $164 USD through a cashapp you fraudulently obtained from one Baraman, which you knew to proceed of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) & (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004.”

They were all arraigned before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The prosecuting officers, Rasheedat Alao and Aliyu Adebayo, tendered the statements and items recovered from the defendants in evidence and urged the courts to convict them as charged.

Justice Sani sentenced Adamu to three years imprisonment on each of the three counts brought against him with option of 100 percent of what he benefited. 

The judge ordered that the convict’s two mobile phones and a draft brought by him as restitution be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The judge also sentenced Olasupo to three years imprisonment on each of the two counts preferred against him with option of N1,043,171 fine on Count one while he would pay N10,840,574.86 fine for Count two.

The convict, according to the judge, shall forfeit his two phones and one MacBook, which he used to perpetrate the crime, to the Federal Government.

Aguh on the other hand bagged two years imprisonment or a fine of N400,000 (Four hundred thousand Naira only).

He is also to forfeit his 2014 Toyota Camry Car, Mac iPad pro, Samsung S9 and iPhone 6S.

Equally, Justice Sani sentenced Ridwan to a prison term of two years with the option of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine and ordered the forfeiture of one infinix phone, which he used as instrumentality of the crime.

For Qozeem, Justice Yusuf sentenced him to six months imprisonment with an option of N100,000 (One hundred thousand Naira only) fine.

They were all arraigned before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The prosecuting officers, Rasheedat Alao and Aliyu Adebayo tendered the statements and items recovered from the defendants in evidence and urged the courts to convict them as charged.