Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on March 5, 2019, convicted and sentenced one Abati Ayodeji Olalekan, a.k.a Carissa, to six months in prison for engaging in internet fraud.
The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had arraigned the convict on a five-count charge bordering on possession of documents containing false pretence, an offence which is contrary to Section 318 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
Ayodeji Olalekan was arrested following intelligence report received by the Commission sometime in October 2018 on the activities of some persons alleged to be involved in internet fraud, obtaining money by false pretence, bank fraud and credit card theft, among others.
Items recovered from him which included one iPhone X, one iPhone 6, one HP Pavilion desktop, and one keyboard, were tendered in evidence by the prosecution and admitted by the court.
One of the counts reads, “that you, Abati Ayodeji Olalekan, a.k.a Carissa, on or about the 17th October 2019 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, had in your possession, documents titled “About Me 2-1-1,” wherein you represented yourself as Carissa, a representation you knew to be a false pretence.”
At the sitting on Monday, March 4, 2019, the prosecution counsel, Emeka Akaogu told the court that the defendant had entered a plea bargain with the Commission, having been confronted with evidence against him.
After a review of the facts, Justice Solebo convicted Olalekan and sentenced him to six months in prison.