A Special Offences Court, Ike- ja, presided over by Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe, yesterday, sentenced a 25-year-old man, Shittu Babatunde Marvellous, to year imprisonment for engaging in fraudulent activities wherein he presented himself as an investor in crypto currency.
The judge arrived at the decision following Marvellous’ guilty plea after being arraigned on a count bothering on possession of fraudulent documents, slammed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In sending the fraudster to jail, the trial court held that he is a first- time offender and had promised to exhibit good behaviour and make restitution.
In her words: “Upon the defendant’s guilty plea and admission of the facts, he is hereby convicted of a one-count charge of possession of fraudulent documents, contrary to Section 320 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State. “He is hereby sentenced to one year of imprisonment with an option of a Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) fine and 40 hours of community service.
“The defendant is also to forfeit his iPhone 12 Pro Max and a Macbook computer recovered as proceeds of the fraudulent acts to the Federal Government of Nigeria.” It would be recalled that before the decision of the court, the prosecution counsel, A. A Gambuwa had urged the court to convict the defendant and sentence him accordingly.
Gambuwa had stated: “We also pray the court to forfeit the phone, laptop, and the cheque raised to the Federal Government.” The prosecutor, while reviewing the facts of the case, revealed that the convict was arrested by the Com- mission following an intelligence report. According to Gambuwa, “The defendant was taken to the office at our Ikoyi location for an interview; he made a voluntary statement and admitted to having benefited from the sum of $5,000.”
