An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Wednesday sentenced a 24-year-old Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) holder, Roland Esin-Mana to six months imprisonment for defrauding unsuspecting citizens on Facebook.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Justice Ismail Ijelu sentenced Esin-Mana to six months jail term, following his plea bargain agreement to the sole count charge of impersonation proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
Ijelu said the court was satisfied that the convict understood the plea bargain agreement and accordingly, found him guilty.
He chastised the convict who was secondary school certificate holder that the only thing he could do well was to commit crimes.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option of N250,00 fine and also ordered that his Infinix Smart 9 and Hp Laptop be forfeited to the Federal Government.
EFCC counsel, Mrs Nanpan Mutfwang, in her review of facts, had told the court that the commission received an intelligence report sometime in March 2024 that some young persons were into the business of Internet fraud known as yahoo yahoo.
Mutfwang submitted that the young persons who had no legitimate source of income, lived an exotic lifestyle and defrauded innocent citizens around Ajah.
She said the convict was arrested and when his phone was analysed under forensic tools, some fraudulent documents were printed out from his email account.
“He confessed to having created a fake instagram and facebook account where he represented himself as Linh Nguyen and Nguyen Ohuc,” the prosecutor said.
NAN reports that the convict”s extra-judicial statement, Infinix Smart 9, Hp laptop and letter of plea bargain agreement were admitted into evidence, following no objections from the defence counsel.
The convict, in his plea for mercy, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.
The anti-graft agency submitted that the convict, with intent to defraud, had in his possession documents containing false pretences wherein he represented himself as Linh Nguyen, an Asian lady, to defraud Dang Xuan who he met on facebook.
According to the commission, the offence contravenes Section 320 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
