Court convicts, sentences two internet fraudsters to years of imprisonment

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday convicted and sentenced two internet fraudsters, Asaolu Dare Sunday and Jason Ovesuor, to various jail terms for Impersonation, contrary to Section 22 (2) (b) (ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015. The presiding Judges of the federal High Court, Justices S. D. Pam and P. I. Ajoku, after the impersonators has pleaded “guilty” to separate one count charge preferred against them by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), sentenced them to varying years of imprisonment.

The EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement disclosed that the charge against Sunday reads: “That you, Asaolu Dare Sunday (aka Clara Marli), sometime in 2022 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Clara Mali, an American woman, on your Instagram account with intent to obtain and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2) (b) (ii) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, and punishable under section 22 (2) (b) (iv) of the Act”

The charge against Ovesuor reads: “That you, Jason Ovesuor Sometime in 2022 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Lexx Andy, an American Citizen, in your Facebook account and WhatsApp with a foreign number +1(587)605-5091 with intent to gain advantage for yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2) (b) (i) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act,2015, and punishable under section 22 (2) (b) (iv) of the same Act”

They pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them by the prosecution.

In view of their pleas, prosecution counsel K. W. Chukwuma-Eneh and C. M. Asuzu, prayed the courts to convict and sentence the defendants as charged.

Justice Pam convicted and sentenced Sunday to one year imprisonment with N100,000 as option of fine.

In the same vein, Justice Ajoku convicted and sentenced Ovesuor to three years in prison with N200,000 as option of fine.

The Judges also ordered that one iPhone 7 and Infinix S4 phones belonging to the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It shall be sold via public auction by the EFCC and the proceeds deposited into the EFCC Recovery Account domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).