Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - A 25-year-old final-year student of a Kwara polytechnic, Olaitan Abdulwahab and three others were on Monday, July 14, sentenced to various jail terms by Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar for various offences bordering on internet fraud.
The four students were dragged to the court by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, Ilorin Zonal Directorate.
A statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele
Oyewale, on Tuesday, July 15, listed Olaitan Abdulwahab Damilare, a 25-year-old
Higher National Diploma student of Quantity Surveying in a prominent
polytechnic in Kwara State, as being sentenced to six months imprisonment by
Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court sitting in
Ilorin.
"He was convicted alongside Maruf Quadri Kolawole,
Habeeb Abiodun Jimoh, and Mubarak Moruf.
"While Olaitan, Maruf, and Habeeb were sentenced by
Justice Abdulgafar, Mubarak’s conviction was handed down by Justice Sulaiman
Akanbi of another division of the Kwara State High Court," the statement
read.
The convicts were prosecuted on separate charges of cheating
by personation and obtaining under false pretences, offences that violate
Sections 321 and 324 of the Penal Code.
The charge against Olaitan reads: "That you, OLAITAN
ABDULWAHAB DAMILARE (a.k.a fav)., sometime in January, 2024 or thereabout at
Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court
dishonestly induced one Michael, a white man to send you gift cards worth the
sum of $2,100 when you knowingly pretended and presented yourself to be Fav, a
white lady who is in a romantic relationship with him and thereby committed an
offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal
Code Laws of Northern Nigeria."
Similarly, the charge against Maruf reads:
"That you, MARUF QUADRI KOLAWOLE, sometime in February 2025, in Ilorin,
Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, did cheat by
personation when you pretended to be one Frank Matt via Facebook, and in that
guise, induced Philip Solomon to send 950 Australian dollars to you, thereby
committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and
punishable under Section 324 of the same Law."
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective
charges.
"Upon their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Aliyu
Adebayo and Mustapha Kaigama, reviewed the facts of the cases through witnesses
who are operatives of the commission.
"They tendered the extrajudicial statements of the
defendants, exhibits recovered from them at the point of arrest and various
amounts of money, which they brought as restitution and were admitted in
evidence.
"Following the unchallenged evidence, the judges found
the defendants guilty and handed down sentences accordingly," Dele Oyewale
stated.
In his judgment, Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Olaitan to six
months imprisonment at the Nigerian Correctional Service in Ilorin and ordered
that the sum of $2000, which he benefited from the proceeds of his unlawful
activities, one iPhone XR and one Samsung phone be forfeited to the Federal
Government of Nigeria.
The judge passed six months’ imprisonment on Maruf and
ordered the forfeiture of his iPhone 13 Pro Max and $950 to the Federal
Government.
Habeeb was also sentenced to six months imprisonment, with a
forfeiture order on his iPhone 14 Pro Max, one HP laptop, and $365.
In a separate ruling, Justice Akanbi handed down one year
imprisonment on Mubarak or a fine of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira
Only) and ordered the final forfeiture of his iphone 15 promax, iphone 7 and
the sum of $300
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