The Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has secured the conviction and sentencing of
one Chika Stanley Okoh for internet fraud, before Justice Chukwujekwu
Aneke of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
He was arraigned in December
2024 on a one-count charge bordering on cybercrime.
The charge reads: “That you Chika Stanley Okoh
sometimes in 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court,
fraudulently held out yourself on facebook account @Zachary Levi as Zachary
Levi, a male American actor, with intention to gain advantage for yourself and
you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(3)
of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition etc.) Act, 2015."
He pleaded "guilty" to the charge when it
was read to him, following which prosecution counsel, B.I.
Oluseyi, invited an investigative officer of the EFCC, Damilare
Adeosun to give a review of the facts of the case.
Adeosun told the court that the
EFCC sometime in November 2024 received credible intelligence on
the activities of internet fraudsters around the Lekki axis of Lagos and
that "Acting on the intelligence, a sting operation was conducted at Lekki
County Estate, Lagos State, where Okoh was arrested alongside several
others," and was taken to EFCC office where he
volunteered his statement.
"The defendant misrepresented himself to be a
white man from the United States with the name Jonathan. The defendant also
confessed that he does middle-man fraud by facilitating proceeds of fraud for
internet fraudsters. And he gets a certain percentage from every transaction
being facilitated. The defendant confessed to have benefitted the sum of
N2 million, which he used to purchase an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The device was
recovered from him upon his arrest. The phone was examined by the forensic
laboratory department and the forensic analysis revealed fraudulent
documents," he said.
Adeosun added that in the course
of the investigations, Okoh raised a United Bank for
Africa (UBA) manager's cheque of N1 million as restitution.
The prosecution counsel tendered in
evidence, Okoh’s confessional statement, the device recovered from
him, findings from the investigation and the manager's cheque with no
objection from the defence counsel, Peter Taiwo.
In his judgment, Justice Aneke held that the
prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable
doubt and pronounced Okoh guilty as charged.
He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment or to
pay a fine of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira Only), to be paid into the
Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation. In addition, he is to
serve 100 hours of community service.
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