Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, convicted and sentenced one Odeyemi Hammed Oluwaseun to one year imprisonment for internet fraud.
The convict, a self-styled spiritualist was prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a two-count charge that bordered on internet fraud, impersonation and obtaining by false pretences.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you, Odeyemi Hammed Oluwaseun, sometime in December, 2023 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly induced one Bose to send $3200.00 (Three Thousand Two Hundred Dollars) worth of gift cards to you, with the impression that the same would be used to diabolically influence her ex-husband to return and marry her, while you pretended and represented yourself to be one Lord Hill, a female spiritualist with email account [email protected], and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code.”
Count two reads: “That you, Odeyemi Hammed Oluwaseun, between August, 2023 to September, 2023 in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly induced one Schneider Alina to send $4500.00 (Four Thousand, Five Hundred Dollar) worth of gift cards to you, with the impression that the same would be used to diabolically control her ex-boyfriend to return and marry her, while you represented yourself to be a female spiritualist with Instagram account _Visions_by_Tendo_12 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code”
He pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to him, following which prosecution counsel, Sesan Ola reviewed the facts of the case, tendered the convict’s extra-judicial statements and evidence, including the sum of $1000 (One Thousand United States Dollars) recovered from him and prayed the court to convict and sentence him as charged.
Convinced that the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Abdulgafar sentenced Oluwaseun to six months suspended jail term on each of the counts, and ordered that the sum of $1000 (One Thousand United States Dollars), iPhone 15 and 2008 Toyota Camry car recovered from him be forfeited to the federal government.
Oluwaseun, a 23-year-old man that hails from Oyo State, defrauded his victims on the internet by posing as an American-based female spiritualist with powers to cause jilted women and estranged wives to regain the affection of their men.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja has fixed January 31, 2025 for the trial of the former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, AGF, Anamekwe Nnabuoku for alleged multiple financial fraud to the tune of N1.96billion.
Nnabuoku was on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on an amended nine-count charge, bordering on criminal conspiracy, money laundering after his co-defendant, Felix Nweke opted for a plea bargain.
Prosecuting counsel, Martha Babatunde had during the proceedings, informed the court that the charges have been amended and requested that they be read to the defendant to enable him take his plea.
Nnabuoku pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him, following which the prosecution requested for a trial date and prayed that the defendant be remanded in the custody of Nigeria Correctional Centre, while the defence counsel, Isidore Udenko informed the court of a bail application for the defendant.
The prosecution presented a counter-affidavit to the bail application and urged the court to deny the defendant bail on the ground that he posed a flight risk.
Justice Omotosho, however, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500 million (Five Hundred Million Naira) with two sureties in like sum. In addition, he ordered that the sureties must be owners of landed properties within Abuja and that the value of the properties should not be less than N250 million each.
The sureties, he ruled, must also depose to an affidavit of means, and submit their bank statements and tax clearance for three years, all of which would be verified by the court’s registrar.