Four Filipinos and seven Nigerians were on Friday jailed by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, after they were found guilty of cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Justice Yellim Bogoro convicted and sentenced the defendants after they were arraigned by its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
The convicted Filipinos are Reyna Mae Eriba, Chyna Samonte, Zara Fabian and Dominique Medina, while the Nigerians are Chidera Ezechukwu, Favour Oluchukwu, Egwenum Ifeanyi, David Okezie, Gbenga Shittu Solomon, Ibraheem Olamilekan and Oghomienor Jotham.
The charges against Mr Samonte read, “That you, Chynna Samonte, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Ete) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
That of Mr Ezechukwu read, “That you, Chidera Ezechukwu, sometime in May 2025 at Lagos, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, did retain the sum of N12,750,318.63 (Twelve Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Million, million, Sixty-three Kobo) in your UBA account with account number 2330149541, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful act to wit: engaging in online dating scam and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 as amended and punishable under section 14(2) of the same Act.”
After the defendant pleaded “guilty” to the charges, the prosecution counsel, Anita Imo, S.I.Suleiman, H.U. Kofarnaisa and B.M. Isah, asked the court to convict and sentence them accordingly and that items recovered from them should be forfeited to the federal government.
The anti-graft agency stated that Ms Bogoro therefore, “convicted and sentenced Eriba, Samonte, Fabian and Medina to one year imprisonment each or to pay N1,000,000.00(One Million Naira) fine, respectively. In addition, he ordered the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS to ensure their deportation to their country of origin within seven days of their completion of their sentences.”
“Gbenga bagged one year jail term or to pay the sum of N700,000.00 (Seven Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, while Jotham, Olalekan, Ezechukwu, David, Ifeanyi and Oluchukwu were sentenced to one year imprisonment, each or to pay the sum of N500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, respectively.”
The judge also ruled that all the cars, communication devices, money and other items recovered from the convicts must be forfeited to the government.
