Court Jails Man 1 Year Over Fake Instagram Profile https://osazuwaakonedo.news/court-jails-man-1-year-over-fake-instagram-profile/09/10/2024/ #EFCC #Abuja #Bola #Corruption #Instagram #Lagos #news #Nigeria #Tinubu Published: October 9th, 2024 Reshared: October 9, 2024 10:13 pm Lagos State High Court
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00:00Lagos State High Court has sentenced a man to one-year imprisonment for being in possession
00:05of a fake Instagram profile used to defraud unsuspecting members of the public just as
00:10Nigeria President, Bona Ametilugu says, corruption has become a cancer denying the country its
00:16benefits.
00:17These were made known in news releases made available by the Public Relations Department
00:23of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, during the week.
00:29Details of the press releases read verbatim below.
00:32Tilugu charges Nigerians to close ranks, raise stronger voices against corruption.
00:39President Bona Ametilugu has called on Nigerians from all walks of life to come together and
00:44form formidable unifying forces against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
00:51He gave the charge in Abuja on Monday, October 7, 2024 while declaring open the Sixth Economic
00:58and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, NJI's workshop for justices and judges.
01:07The president pointed out that corruption had become a cancer denying the nation the
01:11full benefits of its God-given resources and for its corrosive effects to be destroyed,
01:17Nigerians must rise up combatively against it.
01:21No Nigerian is immune from corruption, a cancer which continues to deny the nation the full
01:26benefits of its God-given resources.
01:29Rather than look up only to the anti-corruption agencies for a solution to this malaise, I
01:35believe it is in our enlightened collective interest to close ranks and aggressively tackle
01:40this common enemy, he said.
01:43Tilugu, who spoke through Vice President Kashim Shetima applauded rising improvements in the
01:49prosecution of corruption matters owing to positive developments in the justice sector
01:53reforms, admitted that challenges impeding the speedy adjudication of corruption cases
01:59should be frontally tackled.
02:02Some of them, he noted, include frivolous applications and appeals, intimidation of
02:08judges by counsel, judgment not based on facts of cases but on technicalities.
02:15He commended the EFCC for its courageous and focused efforts in combating corrupt practices
02:21and pledged more support to the Commission.
02:24We will also continue to support the work of the EFCC to ensure that it continues to
02:29deliver its statutory mandate without late or hindrance, he said.
02:34Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Onukwede amplified other challenges affecting speedy
02:42trial of corruption cases.
02:44According to him, the spectre of frequent adjournments of high-profile corruption cases
02:49arising from frivolous applications, conflicting orders by courts or coordinated jurisdiction
02:55in corruption cases, intemperate contempt orders held at the Commission's leadership,
03:00unwarranted orders of injunction restraining the Commission from investigating cases, are
03:04among a plethora of issues that bother the EFCC.
03:08Owing to some of these challenges, especially the incidence of suspects facing criminal
03:13investigation rushing to court to obtain orders of injunction restraining the EFCC from inviting
03:20investigating, interrogating and arresting them, Onukwede stated that the Commission
03:25was unable to conduct investigation in at least 10 states of the Federation.
03:30In spite of all this, the EFCC's boss stressed that the Commission has been unretired in
03:36its works, engaging stakeholders locally and globally to tackle the monster of corruption.
03:43As a Commission, our efforts at integrating stakeholders in the fight against corruption
03:48are continuous.
03:49Earlier this year, we held a stakeholders dialogue on the issue of cybercrime where
03:55we equally unveiled the Commission's new focus on corruption prevention with the establishment
04:00of fraud risk assessment and control.
04:03Frack, we are convinced that it is ultimately more profitable to prevent than to investigate
04:09and prosecute corruption cases, he said.
04:13The workshop, themed Integrating Stakeholders in Common Economic and Financial Crimes, drew
04:20a mammoth crowd of stakeholders, policymakers, top government officials, civil society organizations
04:27and anti-corruption bodies.
04:30Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice K.M.
04:33Okikere-Ekun stated that, for every stakeholder in the anti-corruption corridor to be integrated
04:39there would be a need for the establishment of a coherent and unified structure for information
04:45sharing across institutions.
04:47No single entity can have a complete view of the financial system, making it imperative
04:53that information flows seamlessly among all stakeholders, she said.
04:58Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Latif Fagbemi, son, in his remarks, stated
05:05that building strong legal frameworks, effective law enforcement and international cooperation
05:11were imperative to combat financial crimes and unify stakeholders.
05:16He also called for renewal of commitment to higher values to move the nation forward.
05:22Let us renew our commitment to justice, integrity and the well-being of our nation, he said.
05:29Other dignitaries that graced the opening session of the workshop include, former Secretary
05:34General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyoku, Senate President, President of the
05:40Court of Appeal, Justices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, among others.
05:47Lagos Court jails man one year for possession of fraudulent documents.
05:52Justice O.O.
05:53Abike Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, October
05:598, 2024, convicted and sentenced one Nonso Joseph Ekeocha to one-year imprisonment for
06:06possession of fraudulent documents.
06:09Ekeocha was prosecuted by the Lagos Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
06:15– EFCC, on a one-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents used
06:21to perpetrate Roman scam.
06:23The count reads, Nonso Joseph Ekeocha, on or about the 27th of June 2024 in Lagos, within
06:32the judicial division of this Honorable Court, with the intent to defraud, had in your possession,
06:39Instagram profile account, wherein you represented yourself as Ronald Gregory, and other related
06:45documents for an online dating scam, which you knew or ought to know to be false.
06:50He pleaded guilty to the charge.
06:53Following his guilty plea, the Prosecution Council, I.G.
06:58Akanonu, prepped the court to call his witness, Ismail Saifulahi, an operative of the commission,
07:05to give a review of the facts.
07:08Saifulahi said the defendant was arrested alongside others who engaged in computer-related
07:13fraud in Lagos on June 29, 2024.
07:17Upon his arrest, he was brought to the EFCC office.
07:22Items recovered from him at the point of arrest were iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung S10 phones,
07:28which were analyzed through a forensic examination.
07:32The analysis revealed fraudulent documents about the defendant's involvement in an online
07:37dating scam, where he represented himself as a male American bearing Ronald Gregory.
07:44He informed the commission that he usually carried out the fraudulent activities by sending
07:48love messages randomly online to members of the public and that those who showed interest
07:53in having a relationship were asked for financial assistance.
07:58Akanonu further applied to tender, in evidence, the defendant's extrajudicial statement as
08:04well as the bundle of fraudulent documents printed out from his mobile phones.
08:09Justice Fadipe admitted them as exhibits and convicted him as charged.
08:15When he was given the opportunity to address the court, Nansu pleaded with the court to
08:20tamper justice with mercy, promising never to engage in internet fraud again.
08:26Consequently, Justice Fadipe sentenced him to one year imprisonment, with an option of
08:32500,000 liras and 50 hours community service.
08:37The judge also ordered that both the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung S10 recovered from
08:43him be forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria.