Photo: EFCC complex Abuja
Court sentences student to 2 weeks cleaning EFCC premises for fraud
An FCT High Court in Gwagwalada has sentenced a student, Babatunde Samuel, to cleaning the premises of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for two weeks for internet fraud.
Samuel, 21, who was charged by the EFCC pleaded guilty to cheating on Tuesday and begged the court for leniency.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aliyu Shafa, ordered Samuel to clean the EFCC premises daily from 8 a.m to 10 a.m for two weeks under supervision.
The Judge also ordered Samuel to undergo counselling by EFCC legal department for a period of one month.
Justice Shafa, also ordered the convict to enter a bond to be of good behaviour for a period of two years from 21st June 2022 to 21st June 2024.
He also ordered that the items (laptop and cell phone) used to perpetrate the crime be burnt.
The Judge warned the convict to desist from committing crimes forthwith and be of good behaviour.
The convict had in his allocutus prior to sentencing pleaded with the court to tamper justices with mercy, adding that he would not indulge in such act again.
“I regret involving myself in internet fraud, I will never do it again I promise,” he said.
The Defence Counsel, Mr E. G. Inalegw, had in support of the allocutus by the convict told the court that Samuel, who had no previous conviction record in Nigeria was remorseful and repentant.
”Samuel is the first son of his aged mother who is currently hospitalised, he just finished his secondary education and gained admission into the university.
“He moved down to Abuja to seek for greener pastures but ended himself into internet fraud,” Inalegw pleaded.
He urged the court to tamper justices with mercy, promising that the convict would not repeat such again.
Also, an amicus curiae, Sylvester Ogbelu, pleaded with the court to consider the age of the convict and grant him a non custodial sentence, especially with the condition of the mother who was aged and currently very sick in the hospital.
Earlier, the EFCC Counsel, Khalid Sanusi told the court that Samuel, alias Andy Wong, through his Facebook sometime in 2021 cheated by pretending to be a Chinese oil and gas engineer based in Italy.
Sanusi said Samuel, in that regard tricked his victim by name Karen with intent to obtain the sum of 10,000 dollars.
The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of Section 321 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 322.
