At the Edo State High Court in Benin City, Justice W.I. Aziegbemhin sentenced eleven online scammers to prison for their fraudulent operations.
The suspects were charged with separate one-count counts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that included possession of forged documents, advance fee fraud, false pretense, and retention of criminal proceeds.
The charge against Efe read: “That you, Justice Samuel Efe (m), on or about the 8th of February, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did have in your possession documents which you knew or ought to have known contained false pretence, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 6 and 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Prosecution attorneys F.A. Jirbo, I.K. Agwai, and Salihu Ahmed asked the court to convict and punish them in accordance with their pleas of “guilty” to the accusations after they were read to them.
The defense attorney, meanwhile, expressed regret for their actions and asked the court to balance justice with mercy. Izomor, Efe, and Bright were found guilty and given two years in prison or a N200,000 fine apiece by Justice Aziegbemhin.
Arogbo and Destiny were also fined N400,000 each or sentenced to two years in prison. Three years in prison or a N200,000 fine was imposed on Aduwa, Oghosa, Theophilus, Junior Efe, Princewill, Clinton, and Iyobor.
Along with their sentences, all of the prisoners agreed in writing to behave well going forward and gave up their phones, laptops, and large sums of money that were discovered in their bank accounts to the federal authorities.
The inmates’ journey to the penitentiary facility started when EFCC agents from the Benin Zonal Directorate arrested them in a sting operation after receiving reliable information that connected them to fraudulent online activity.
