Court jails Customs job scammers in Oyo

The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State has convicted and sentenced Olukoya Emmanuel Adeyemi; Qoreeb Oluwadamilare Fujah and Olayinka Ridwan Olatunji to various jail terms for job scam and cybercrime.

Justice Uche Agomoh convicted Olukoya and sentenced him to two years imprisonment on an amended two-count that bordered on employment scam.

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission announced these in a statement by its Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, on Wednesday.

The anti-graft agency said the convict had swindled his victims of N2 million under the pretext of securing jobs for them with the Nigeria Customs Service.

One of the counts reads, “That you, Olukoya Emmanuel Adeyemi ‘M’ on or about the 26th day of April, 2019 in Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of Seventy-seven Thousand Naira (N77,000.00) from one Ajiboye Hamed through your Access Bank Account No. 0728344783, under the false pretence that you have given him employment with the Nigeria Customs and that the payment is for the Custom job replacement and training kit

“This is a pretext which you knew to be false and you deceitfully made it, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable by Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”

Upon his arraignment, he pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Subsequently, the prosecution counsel, Chidi Okoli, prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant as charged.

Justice Agomoh, thereafter convicted and sentenced Olukoya to two years imprisonment and ordered that restitution be made to the victims.

Also, Adeyemi, Qoreeb Oluwadamilare Fujah and Olayinka Ridwan Olatunji were arraigned, convicted and sentenced on a separate one-count each for their involvement in internet fraud.

They pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge preferred against the by the EFCC.

Consequently, prosecution counsel, Abdulrasheed Suleiman prayed to the court to convict and sentenced them as charged.

Justice Agomoh convicted and sentenced Olatunji to one-year imprisonment and Fujah to six months jail term.

The court further ordered that Olayinka pay the sum of $10, 760.00 in restitution and forfeit all items recovered from him to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

In the same vein, Justice Bayo Taiwo of the State High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State on October 20, 2022, convicted and sentenced one Akande Qudus Opeyemi to two months of community service on a one count for cybercrime.

Akande pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge when it was read to him.

Also, the court ordered that he restitute his victim and forfeit all items recovered from him to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

(Punch)