Society Gists

Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Lagos on Tuesday convicted Dadeowo Hassan.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted him on a two-count amended charge bordering on possession of documents used to perpetrate internet fraud.

The EFCC said on or about May 4, 2021 in Lagos, Hassan with intent to defraud, had a document titled MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR, printed out of email rdhfdfgd21@gmail.com.

Hassan was accused of printing the document from a website – UNICC, where he purchased an American social security number.

After he pleaded “guilty” to the charges, the prosecuting counsel, M. S. Owede, gave a review of the facts of the case.

Owede recalled that following intelligence on the activities of internet fraudsters operating within Victoria Garden City (VGC), the EFCC carried out a raid.

“This defendant was arrested with his tools: iPhone X, iPhone 12 Pro Max, a Nokia phone, and a Hewlett-Packard laptop”, the lawyer said.

Owede tendered the statement Hassan made to the EFCC, documents from his email and a cheque of N500,000 he issued as part of a plea bargain agreement.

The documents were admitted in evidence against him and marked Exhibits P1a, P1b, P1c, P1d, P2, P3, P4 and P5.

Justice Abike-Fadipe found Haasan guilty as charged and sentenced him to one year in prison, with an option of a N1million fine and 40 hours of community service.

The convict is to forfeit to the Federal Government the devices recovered from him, including the N500,000 bank draft.