Court Jails Man for One Year Over $7,000 Online Scam
An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced a family man, Ajie Samuel Chukwudi, to one year imprisonment for possession of documents containing false pretense.
Justice Olubumi Fadipe-Abike delivered the ruling after Ajie pleaded guilty to the charge brought against him.
He was arraigned on an amended charge dated March 27, 2025. In delivering her judgment, Justice Fadipe noted that the defendant was a first-time offender who did not waste the court’s time.
“You shall forfeit your iPhone 15 Pro and the sum of $4000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I sentenced you to one year imprisonment or with an option of N500,000 and 100 hours of community service.
“Where the defendant elects the option of fine and community service, the non-custodial unit of the Nigeria Correctional Service shall transfer the defendant to the Lagos State Ministry of Justice which shall supervise his community service on the condition that the defendant shows proof of payment of the fine,” the judge ruled.
During the proceedings, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuting counsel, Ahmad Yerima, presented EFCC operative John Daniel as a witness. Daniel informed the court that the defendant was arrested by the Nigeria Police Force Zone 2 on March 7, 2025 and later handed over to the EFCC.
He stated that during interrogation, the defendant admitted to engaging in a middleman scam. Further forensic analysis of his phone revealed fraudulent documents, which were printed in his presence.
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The EFCC operative said Ajie was found with an iPhone 15 Pro and confessed to benefiting $7,000 from the scam, of which $4,000 was recovered in cash.
The EFCC tendered the iPhone, the recovered money, the transfer letter from the police, the defendant’s statement, and the fraudulent documents extracted from his phone as evidence. The court was then urged to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
The defense counsel, Makinde, did not raise any objections.
