The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, secured the conviction of one Adeshina Michael Oluwafemi from Ekiti State, for posing as a white man in an attempt to defraud his unsuspecting victims.
Adeshina was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin after the judge found him guilty of one count charge levelled against him by the Commission.
The charge reads: “That you, Adeshina Michael Oluwafemi (aka Viki Ron) Sometime in May 2020 or thereabout at Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court attempted to commit an offence of cheating by personation by pretending and representing yourself to be a white man called Viki Ron who was in a relationship with a white woman, Carol Richard as it is contained in your Gmail account: ronv553@gmail.comand thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 95 of the Penal Code Laws of Northern Nigeria
”The defendant pleaded guilty when the charge was read to him.
Following his guilty plea, counsel to the EFCC, Aliyu Adebayo, called a witness who is an operative of the EFCC to review the facts of the case. The witness narrated how the defendant was arrested based on credible intelligence. The witness tendered the defendant’s Huawei Phone, fraudulent messages printed from his device as well as his extra-judicial statements and were admitted in evidence.
Adebayo, thereafter urged the court to consider the plea of the defendant, the extra-judicial statements and all the exhibits tendered to convict the defendant as charged.
In his judgment, Justice Akinpelu said the court was satisfied with the case of the prosecution and pronounced Adeshina guilty as charged.
The judge sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment with option of fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira Only). The court also ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s Huawei Phone which was used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.
