Court orders 'Yahoo boy' to forfeit N5m to FGN over Internet fraud

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, today, ordered an internet fraudster,  Bamgboye Adewunmi, to pay the sum of N200, 000, and forfeit a new generation bank's cheque with monetary value in the sum of N5 million to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

The judge took the decision after the internet fraudster, popularly called 'Yahoo boy', pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy and an attempt to defraud an American helicopter company of the sum of USD 897,432.96, as made against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Arraigning the convict, counsel for the EFCC, Abubakar Salihu Wara, informed the judge that the convict alongside Stephen Godbless and Ibrahim Owolabi, both said to be at large, conspired among themselves to commit the offences.

Wara further notified the court that the three men, with an intention to defraud and fraudulently obtained the sum of $897, 432. 96, misdirected the electronic messages from the U.S. helicopter company to an email, bontoh1@national.citadel.edu.

He equally told the court that the offences committed by the convict, contravened section 11 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, and punishable under the same Act.

As a result of the convict's plea of guilty, the prosecutor, after reviewing the facts of the charge, urged the court to convict and sentence him.

In his judgment, Justice Oweibo, after listening to both the prosecutor and the defence lawyer, sentenced the convict to one year on each count. 

The judge equally directed the convict to pay the sum of N100, 000 for each of the counts in lieu of the jail terms, adding that the jail term should run concurrently while the fine should be consecutive.

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