A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced an Edo State-born internet fraudster, Fatayi Musa Inu-Umoru, popularly known as a 'Yahoo boy,' to two years imprisonment for conspiracy, identity theft, and unlawful possession of illicit properties.
The sentencing followed a guilty plea by Inu-Umoru, who also goes by the name Amanosi Musa Fatayi, to a two-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Daniel Osiagor delivered the judgment, sentencing the convict to six months on each of the counts with an option of a N100,000 fine on each count.
The judge ordered both the jail term and the fine options to run concurrently, in line with the terms of a plea bargain agreement struck between the defence and the anti-graft agency.
The conviction and sentencing mark the conclusion of a case where the EFCC had initially filed a 12-count charge against Inu-Umoru.
The subsequent plea bargain saw the charges reduced to two.
A major component of the plea bargain agreement was the substantial forfeiture of assets acquired through his illicit activities.
These assets include a unit of a fully detached four-bedroom duplex known as Block E, plot 6(B) in the upscale Favoured Heights Estates in Lekki, Lagos, and a luxury 2019 Mercedes-Benz G63 worth a staggering N160 million.
During the arraignment, EFCC prosecutor Bilikisu Buhari-Bala informed the court that Inu-Umoru and an accomplice, Uche Musa Inu-Umoru (who is currently at large), committed the offences between March 2023 and July 2025 in Lagos State.
The charges to which Inu-Umoru pleaded guilty revolved around money laundering and disguising the origin of his illicit gains.
The court heard that his actions were contrary to sections of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The two-count charge the convict pleaded to detail how he conspired to indirectly disguise part of the origin of his illegal wealth to acquire the Lekki duplex on or about March 20, 2023.
A second count outlined his actions on July 4, 2023, where he indirectly disguised part of the origin of his illicit gain to purchase the N160 million Mercedes-Benz G63.
Both properties, according to the EFCC, formed part of the proceeds of his unlawful activity, specifically impersonation.
Before the plea bargain, the initial charges also included a specific count of fraudulently impersonating one Diana Lee, described as a white female, sometime in July 2025, with the intent to gain an advantage, an offence punishable under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015.
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