The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted three additional suspects arrested in connection with the recent cybercrime raid at a hotel within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) complex in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The convicts – Adenekan Ayinde, Oyatokun Qudus, and Adisa Okikiade – were among the 93 individuals apprehended last week by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during a coordinated sting operation in the state capital.
Their conviction, delivered on Monday by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, came barely three days after four other suspects from the same raid were jailed for related offences.
According to the EFCC, the three men were arraigned on separate one-count charges bordering on impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud in violation of Section 22 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.
During proceedings, the prosecution counsel, S.M. Yabo, tendered an iPhone 14 Pro Max and other incriminating materials as exhibits, which the court admitted without objection from the defence.
Ayinde, who confessed to benefiting financially from online fraud, told the court he had refunded N200,000 as part of restitution. Justice Dipeolu subsequently sentenced him to one month imprisonment with an option of N300,000 fine.
Qudus received a similar sentence of one month imprisonment or a N300,000 fine, while Okikiade, who also pleaded guilty to impersonation, was handed a conviction with the option of a fine.
The development brings to seven the number of suspects convicted so far out of the 93 arrested at the OOPL complex, as the EFCC continues prosecution of others in batches.
The agency had last Thursday paraded the 93 suspects, describing the raid as part of its intensified clampdown on internet fraud syndicates across the Southwest.
EFCC sources told PLATFORM TIMES that more suspects are expected to face trial in the coming days as the agency reviews evidence recovered during the operation.
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