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Courts jail 25 internet fraudsters in Oyo, Osogbo
Courts jail 25 internet fraudsters in Oyo, Osogbo
The Ibadan zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of 25 internet fraudsters before seven different judges in Federal and State High Courts in Ibadan, Oyo State, and Osogbo, Osun State.
The convicts are Tomiwa Olumide Ayodele, Adeniyi Kehinde Nuhu, Adeniyi Warris Adegbola, Toyeeb Abayomi Ijadunola, Isiah Akinyele Kehinde, Oluwadunsin Johnson Alabi, Muis Lawal Gbolahan, Adeyinka Kola Adeleye, Sodiq Iyanu Babatunde, Ojo Blessing Adeniyi, Akinrinwoye Victor Olamide, Olaloye Olanrewaju Kingsley, Daniel Olashile Maiye, and Omolade Opeyemi Oluwaseyi.
Others include Olamide Adekunle Adeoye, Kazeem Makinde Olawale, Malik Olamilekan Ayoade, Emmanuel Ayomide Ojubanire, Dada Bamidele John, Henry Ogochukwu Ikeh, Faruq Omoleye Adeola, Oluyole Ayobami Emmanuel, Ayodele Michael Damilola, Adaramoye Abayomi, and Yussuf Quadri Abiodun.
According to a statement by EFCC head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale the convicts were prosecuted on one-count separate charges, except Nuhu who faced two-count charges.
He said their charges bordered on impersonation, cheating, possession of fraudulent documents and obtaining by false pretence.
The charge against Abiodun reads: “That you, Yussuf Quadri Abiodun ‘M’, sometime in May 2024 at Ede, Osun State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to gain advantage for yourself impersonated one Josh Rita, a female from United States of America through Facebook Account to one Jesus Valdez, wherein you obtained the sum of $1420 USD (One Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty United States of America Dollars) the pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(i) and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.”
That of Abayomi reads: “That you, Adaramoye Abayomi ‘M’ on or about 20th May 2024 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to gain advantage for yourself, falsely impersonated one Greg Fernando, a male from the United States of America through Tiktok Account with username @greg4082 and chatted with one Ann Wesley and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(i) and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.”
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They all pleaded “guilty” to their charges when they were read to them, upon which prosecution counsel: Oluwatoyin Owodunni, Modupe Akinkoye, Oyelakin Oyediran, Sanusi Galadanchi, Lanre Suleiman, Mabas Mabur, Shamsuddeen, Umar Abiso, Abiddeen Muhammad, Adamu Sahabi, Fatima Baba, David Olubode and Favour Adewunmi prayed the courts to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Justice M. Salisu of the Osun State High Court, sitting in Osogbo convicted and sentenced Ayodele, Nuhu, Adegbola and Ijadunola to one-year imprisonment each or to pay a fine of N1million (One Million Naira) each. Nuhu forfeited a Toyota Camry car, 2005 Model with Registration number: APP – 572 – GR to the federal government and also to restitute the sum of N415,000.00 (Four Hundred and Fifteen Thousand Naira) to his victim. Ijadunola forfeited a grey-coloured Toyota Camry car to the federal government and to restitute the sum of N2,500,000.00 (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) to his victim.
He also convicted and sentenced Kehinde to a one-year jail term or to pay a fine of N500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) and slammed Alabi with six months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) Abayomi got six months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N250,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira), while Abiodun bagged eight months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N500, 000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira).
He forfeited his grey-coloured TVS motorcycle. Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan convicted and sentenced Gbolahan, Adeleye and Babatunde to three months of community service each or to pay a fine of N30,000.00 (Thirty Thousand Naira) fine each.
Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Osun State High Court, sitting in Osogbo convicted and sentenced Adeniyi, Olamide and Kinsley to a six-month jail term each. Adeniyi was given N500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) option of a fine, while Olamide and Kinsley were given N300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) option of a fine, respectively. Oluwaseyi bagged a one-year jail term without an option of fine from the judge and Maiye two weeks imprisonment.
Justice Ayo-Emmanuel also convicted and sentenced Adeoye and gave him N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) option of fine. He jailed Olawale, John, and Ayoade for three months each or to pay a fine of N250,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira), N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) and N300,000.00, (Three Hundred Thousand Naira), respectively. Ojubanire got two months imprisonment from the judge or to pay a fine of N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira).
Justice M. Ishola of the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan convicted and sentenced Ikeh to six months of community service, while Justice Bayo Taiwo convicted and sentenced Adeola to five months of community service in addition to paying a fine of N100,000. 00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira).
Justice E.U. Akpan of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State convicted and sentenced Emmanuel and Damilola to one-year imprisonment or to pay a fine of N150,000. 00 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) each.
The convicts forfeited all items recovered from them to the federal government.
Their road to prison began with their arrest in a sting operation, carried out in Signatures Elixir and Alba Royale Clubhouses in Akure, Ondo State and Ede, Osun State by operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Command of the EFCC following credible intelligence on their fraudulent internet activities in both states.
Courts jail 25 internet fraudsters in Oyo, Osogbo
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Notorious cultist, Pelele, gunned down in Rivers
Notorious cultist, Pelele, gunned down in Rivers
Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have successfully neutralized a suspected cultist and kidnapper, Gbarani Bume, popularly known as Pelele, in Luawii Community, Khana Local Government Area.
Bume, a reportedly known member of the Iceland cult group, had allegedly been terrorizing the Beree/Tabaa area of Khana LGA alongside his gang.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
According to Iringe-Koko, the police acted on intelligence that Pelele and his gang were attempting to abduct a site engineer in Luawii. Upon arrival, the operatives were met with gunfire from the suspects. In the ensuing shootout, Pelele sustained fatal injuries and later died, while his accomplices fled with gunshot wounds.
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The statement reads: “The Rivers State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in its efforts to combat crime, neutralising a notorious cultist and kidnapper, Gbarani Bume, a.k.a. Pelele, a native of Bere Community in Khana LGA.
“He was a member of the Iceland Cult Group, which has been terrorising the Beree/Tabaa axis of Khana LGA.
“On the 15th of November 2024, operatives from the Bori Division, acting on a tip-off, were mobilised to Luawii Community where Pelele and his gang were attempting to kidnap a site engineer.
“Upon sighting the operatives, the hoodlums opened fire, resulting in a fierce crossfire, during which Pelele was fatally wounded. His accomplices escaped with various degrees of bullet wounds.
“Items recovered from the suspect include one AK-47 rifle, two magazines, and 10 rounds of live ammunition.”
She further stated that investigations are ongoing to track down the fleeing gang members, emphasizing the Command’s commitment to tackling crime and enhancing public safety in the state.
Notorious cultist, Pelele, gunned down in Rivers
metro
Court stops police from arresting 68 Obaseki’s allies
Court stops police from arresting 68 Obaseki’s allies
metro
26 dead, 59 missing as Israel hits Gaza, Lebanon in deadly strikes
26 dead, 59 missing as Israel hits Gaza, Lebanon in deadly strikes
Strikes by the Israel military killed dozens in Gaza on Sunday, the civil defence said, while also hitting a Hezbollah stronghold near Beirut’s international airport.
Israel has been fighting on two fronts since September, intensifying attacks on Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah after nearly a year of cross-border clashes alongside its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A year after the Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attacks on its south, Israel vowed to stop the Islamist militants from regrouping in the north of the Palestinian territory, launching a major assault there.
In the latest violence in the besieged Palestinian territory, the civil defence agency said Israeli air raids killed at least 46 people.
The deadliest strike, in the middle of the night in Beit Lahia in the north, killed 26 people, including women and children, and left at least 59 others buried under the rubble, said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
Another strike killed 10 people in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, where a separate strike on a house claimed the life of a woman, he said.
An Israeli drone strike killed five people in the southern city of Rafah, Bassal said, adding another strike killed three women and a child in the Nuseirat camp.
Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry on Sunday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,846.
The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.
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Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
– Lebanon rescuers mourned –
On Israel’s second front in the north, AFPTV footage showed several strikes hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold, shortly after the Israeli military warned people to evacuate.
Columns of smoke were seen rising over the capital’s southern suburbs, where Lebanon’s only international airport is located.
Further south, overnight Israeli air strikes and shelling hit the flashpoint town of Khiam, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported.
Following the bombardment, the Israeli army said about 20 projectiles were seen crossing from Lebanon into Israel, and that some of them were intercepted. Emergency services did not immediately report any casualties.
Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah militants in support of Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
Its military on Saturday said Hezbollah had already “paid a big price”, but vowed to keep fighting until tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from the north can return home.
Israeli forces also shelled the southern area of Lebanon along the Litani River, the NNA said on Sunday.
The news agency had earlier reported strikes on the southern city of Tyre, including in a neighbourhood near UNESCO-listed ancient ruins. Israel’s military said late Saturday it had hit Hezbollah sites in the area.
In Lebanon’s east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley killed six people including three children.
Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile that set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwestern Lebanese village of Chamaa.
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In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.
“They weren’t involved with any (armed) party… they were just waiting to answer calls for help,” said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.
– Gaza famine alert –
Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.
Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed fighting Hezbollah.
A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.
Israel has pushed back against a Human Rights Watch report this week alleging that its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a “crime against humanity”, as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing to warfare practices “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.
A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as “completely false”, while the United States — Israel’s main military supplier — said accusations of genocide “are certainly unfounded”.
In Israel, police said they arrested three suspects after flares shot near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the central city of Caesarea, south of Haifa, while he was away.
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.
The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show “seriousness” in truce and hostage-release talks.
26 dead, 59 missing as Israel hits Gaza, Lebanon in deadly strikes
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