Thirteen convictions were secured by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, November 22, 2021 before different judges of the Federal and State High Courts in Ibadan and Osogbo, the capital cities of Oyo and Osun states for fraudulent activities of the accused persons.
The convicts were Abiodun Babatunde Sowunmi, Adeyemi Babatunde Hammed, Abeeb Abiola Badmus, Adebayo Akorede Saheed, Ganiyu Qudus Olawale and Omolade Ayemidotun Moses.
Others were Taofeeq Toheeb Atanda, Oyekanmi Qudus Oyewale, Alabi Ifeoluwa Olamide, B.T.D Multi global Limited, Adewuyi Adetoun, Owolabi Toheeb Tolulope and Taiwo Shedrack Akpoyen.
They were all prosecuted on separate charges.
Justice Uche Agomoh of Federal High Court, Ibadan, found Sowunmi, Olawale, Omolade and Badmus guilty of offence of impersonation, contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(1) Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2)(b) of the same Act.
While Sowunmi and Olawale were sentenced to 10 months imprisonment each, Omolade and Badmus bagged nine and six months imprisonment respectively.
Similarly, Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, convicted Alabi, Atanda, Oyekanmi, Adeyemi and Adebayo on separate charges of obtaining property by false pretence, contrary to Section 419 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
The judge sentenced Alabi to a term of three months community service, while Atanda, Adeyemi, Adebayo and Oyekanmi bagged two months community service each.
In the same vein, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo found B.T.D Multiglobal Limited guilty of counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 preferred against them by the EFCC.
Trouble started sometimes in December 2017 when the Commission received a petition alleging that B.T.D Multiglobal Limited and Adewumi fraudulently misappropriated N1 billion received from about 8,000 investors.
The court, while ordering the revocation of the certificate of incorporation of the company, ordered that the Corporate Affairs Commission should wind up the company. According to the judge, “the proceeds therefrom as well as the sum of N32 million recovered in the course of investigation should be used to pay the investors.”
The judge also found Adewuyi, who claimed to be 20 years old and a student of Federal University of Technology, Akure, as at the time the offence was committed, guilty of count 1 and 2 and imposed a prison term of three years on each of the two counts, to run concurrently.
Justice Ayo-Emmanuel also sentenced Akpoyen to 10 months imprisonment over fraudulent impersonation, and a prison term of six years for Owolabi for impersonation and possession of documents.
The convicts were to restitute their various victims and forfeit the items recovered from them to the Federal Government.
