A 25-year-old final-year student, Olaitan Abdulwahab, alongside three others, has been convicted and sentenced to jail terms for offences related to Internet fraud, following successful prosecution by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts — all young men — were arraigned on Monday, July 14, 2025, before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar and Justice Sulaiman Akanbi of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin.
In a statement on Tuesday, EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed that Olaitan, a Higher National Diploma (HND) student of Quantity Surveying at a leading polytechnic in Kwara, was sentenced to six months imprisonment for impersonation and obtaining under false pretences.
“He was convicted alongside Maruf Quadri Kolawole, Habeeb Abiodun Jimoh, and Mubarak Moruf. While Olaitan, Maruf, and Habeeb were sentenced by Justice Abdulgafar, Mubarak’s conviction was handed down by Justice Sulaiman Akanbi of another division of the Kwara State High Court,”
Oyewale said.
The charges against the four defendants were based on Sections 321 and 324 of the Penal Code, which deal with cheating by personation and obtaining by false pretences.
The EFCC statement provided further details of their fraudulent activities:
“That you, OLAITAN ABDULWAHAB DAMILARE (a.k.a fav)., sometime in January, 2024 or thereabout at Ilorin, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly induced one Michael, a white man to send you gift cards worth the sum of $2,100 when you knowingly pretended and presented yourself to be Fav, a white lady who is in a romantic relationship with him and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code Laws of Northern Nigeria.”
Similarly, Maruf Quadri Kolawole was charged as follows:
“That you, MARUF QUADRI KOLAWOLE, sometime in February 2025, in Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, did cheat by personation when you pretended to be one Frank Matt via Facebook, and in that guise, induced Philip Solomon to send 950 Australian dollars to you, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 324 of the same Law.”
All the defendants pleaded guilty, prompting prosecution counsel Aliyu Adebayo and Mustapha Kaigama to present further evidence, including extrajudicial confessions, devices recovered, and money returned as restitution.
“Following the unchallenged evidence, the judges found the defendants guilty and handed down sentences accordingly,”
the EFCC confirmed.
Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Olaitan to six months at the Nigerian Correctional Service in Ilorin, and ordered the forfeiture of $2000, an iPhone XR, and a Samsung phone.
Maruf also received a six-month sentence, with the forfeiture of an iPhone 13 Pro Max and $950.
Habeeb Abiodun Jimoh was sentenced to six months imprisonment, with an iPhone 14 Pro Max, one HP laptop, and $365 forfeited.
In a separate judgment, Justice Sulaiman Akanbi gave Mubarak Moruf a one-year sentence or an option of N400,000 fine, alongside the forfeiture of his iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 7, and $300.
The EFCC reaffirmed its commitment to ridding campuses and digital spaces of cybercrime.
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