Undergraduate Bags Jail Term For Internet Fraud

Source: thewillnigeria.com
Click for Full Image Size

KADUNA, April 02, (THEWILL) - A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has sentenced an undergraduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye to five years imprisonment over an attempt to obtain money under false pretences in a cyber café belonging to a former member of the National Assembly, Senator Olabode Ola in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Justice Lawal Shuaibu, who sentenced the convict, Olasaidi Dare, ordered that his imprisonment should take effect from March 31, 2008 — the day he was arrested at Friendly’s Cyber Café located inside Friendly’s Hotel along Adebayo Street, Ado-Ekiti, while attempting to defraud an unsuspecting victim overseas. A suspect with whom he was arrested had earlier been convicted by the same court.

Proprietor of the hotel, Senator Ola is himself standing trial alongside the manager of the cafe at an Ekiti State High Court over an alleged illegal use of his premises for a cyber cafe and his failure to register the café with all regulatory agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Recalling their arrests, Wison Uwujaren, acting head (media and publicity) said illegal cyber cafes all over the country were raided in March 2008 in an operation codenamed Cyberstorm 1.

“The operation yielded several arrests and exposed several owners of un-registered cafes. Dare was among those arrested and his conviction only reinforces the illegality and criminality of his actions. Senator Bode Ola’s trial is still running in the court.”