Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, May 23, 2025, convicted and sentenced twelve Filipinos to one year imprisonment each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
The convicts are: Anjeanette Topacio, Gladys Joy Mag-Iba,
Jean Calago, Shairah Mae Reyes, Roseann Gonzales, Lari Jane Tayag, Mary Grace
De La Cruz, Krystel Aquilesca, Jonilyn Agulto, Paizza Camara, Vivian Pionella
and Jonalyn Mendoza.
They were arraigned on Friday, May 23, by the Lagos Zonal
Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on
separate charges of possession of fraudulent documents.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Anjeanette Topacio,
sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable
Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously
destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of
Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to
hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain
a financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition,
Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the
Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022."
Another charge reads: “That you, Shairah May Reyes, sometime
in December 2024, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, had
in your possession a document containing false pretense, printed from your
Telegram, wherein you posed to be a lady, living in the UK , which
representation you knew to be false, thereby committed an offence, contrary to
Section 6 (8c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act,
2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act."
They all pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read
to them.
In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, N.K.Ukoha
and H.U. Kofarnaisa, respectively, requested that the court convict the
defendants as charged, in accordance with the plea bargain they had entered
into with the Commission.
Justice Bogoro convicted and sentenced the defendants to one
year imprisonment each, with a fine of N1,000,000.00( One Million Naira).
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