24-year-old KWASU Student Convicted for Cybercrime, Possession of Fraudulent Funds

Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced a 24-year-old student of the State University, Malete, KWASU, Alonge Toyib Alao, to one-year imprisonment for cybercrimes and possession of fraudulent funds.

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arraigned Alonge before the court following the discovery of over N74m in his Fidelity bank account number 6323625884, reasonably suspected to be unlawfully obtained and thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 318A of the Penal Code Law and punishable under the same law.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the count charge against him.

Counsel to the EFCC, Rasheedat Alao, thereafter presented a prosecution witness, Kamaldeen Yahaya, also an operative of the agency to review the facts of the case.

According to count one charge against him, Alonge Toyib Alao, was said to have sometime in April 2020 and April 2021, in Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of the honourable court did knowingly have under his control N74m paid into his Fidelity bank account No. 6323625884 reasonably suspected to be unlawfully obtained and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 318A of the Penal Code law and punishable under the same law.

Yahaya, an operative of the agency, narrated in his evidence the circumstances that led to Alonge’s arrest, while items recovered from him including a Lexus 350 car, phone, Apple laptop and fraudulent messages printed from his email were presented and admitted in evidence.

The EFCC counsel urged the court to consider the testimonies of the sole prosecution witness, the guilty plea by the defendant and the exhibits tendered as well as the provisions of the law to pass judgment.

In her judgement, the trial judge sentenced Alonge to six months imprisonment on each of the two counts with N100,000 fine on each count.

She further ordered that all the items recovered from the convict at the point of arrest be forfeited to the Federal Government.