Court Jails Kwara Fashion Designer For Cybercrime

A 24-year-old fashion designer, Muhammed Ayub, has been sentenced to six years imprisonment for offences bordering on internet fraud and possession of fraudulent funds.

Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced Odelade Samuel and Olowokere Jamiu alongside Ayub.

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Wednesday, arraigned the trio on separate charges.

The charge against Odelade reads, “That you, Odelade Samuel sometime between January 2021 and December 2022 in Ilorin, Kwara state within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did knowingly had under your control the gross sum of N3,513,549.00 paid into your bank account, which is reasonably suspected to be unlawfully obtained and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 319(A) of the penal code law and punishable under the same Section.”

Upon the guilty pleas by the defendants, the prosecutors of the case, Sesan Ola and Rashidat Alao, on behalf of the Commission reviewed the facts of the cases through witnesses who are operatives of the EFCC.

In his judgement, Justice Yusuf said the prosecution had established the essential ingredients of the cases to warrant the conviction of the defendants.

Justice Yusuf sentenced Ayub to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 only and ordered that one iPhone 7, one apple iPhone 12 and the sum of $700 he raised as restitution be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The court also ordered the convict to bring the sum of   $250 as restitution

Similarly, Odelade bagged six months imprisonment on each of the two counts with option of N100,000.

Justice Yusuf also ordered that one iPhone 12 Pro max, HP laptop and a Lexus Car and the sum of N780,000 he raised as restitution be forfeited to the federal government.

He also sentenced Olowokere to six months imprisonment with option of N50,000 on each count.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s iPhone 11 and the sum of $1350 to the federal government.