He was arrested and arraigned on three counts before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court.
A 28-year-old member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Adamu Shaibu, has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment over offences bordering on cybercrime and possession of fraudulent funds.
Shaibu who is serving in Igara Local Government Area of Edo State was arrested and arraigned on three counts before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin on Monday by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to a statement by the EFCC, Shaibu, an indigene of Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State, was convicted alongside four others including Olasupo Abdullateef Olawale, from Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State, Aguh Henry Chicherem from Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, Ridwan Abiodun Abdulganiyu and Qozeem Shuaib from Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Count one of the charges against Shaibu states, “That you, Adamu Shaibu, between April and August 2021 in Lokoja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did retain the control of the sum of $164 USD through a cash app you fraudulently obtained from one Baraman, which you knew to be proceeds of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) & (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
Rasheedat Alao and Aliyu Adebayo who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the anti-graft agency tendered the statements and items recovered from the defendants in evidence and urged the courts to convict them as charged.
In his ruling, the presiding Judge sentenced Shaibu to three years imprisonment on each of the three counts brought against him with an option of returning all that he benefited from the crime. The judge ordered that the convict’s two mobile phones and a draft brought by him as restitution be forfeited to the Nigerian Government.
“The judge also sentenced Olasupo to three years imprisonment on each of the two counts preferred against him with an option of fine of N1,043,171 on Count One and N10,840,574.86 on Count Two. The convict, according to the judge, shall forfeit his two phones and one MacBook, which he used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.
“Aguh on the other hand bagged two years imprisonment or a fine of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only). He is also to forfeit his 2014 Toyota Camry Car, Mac iPad Pro, Samsung S9 and iPhone 6S.
“Equally, Justice Sani sentenced Ridwan to a prison term of two years with an option of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine and ordered the forfeiture of one Infinix phone, which he used as an instrumentality of the crime.
“For Qozeem, Justice Yusuf sentenced him to six months imprisonment with an option of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only) fine,” the statement added.