A Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced four students, including a 25-year-old final-year student of a polytechnic, Olaitan Abdulwahab Damilare, to various jail terms for offences related to internet fraud. The students were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ilorin Zonal Directorate, and convicted on Monday, July 14, 2025.
According to a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Olaitan, a Higher National Diploma student of Quantity Surveying, was sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar. Others convicted alongside him are Maruf Quadri Kolawole and Habeeb Abiodun Jimoh, who also received six-month jail terms from the same judge. In a separate ruling, Justice Sulaiman Akanbi sentenced Mubarak Moruf to one year in prison or a fine of N400,000.
The convicts were charged with offences bordering on cheating by personation and obtaining under false pretences, contrary to Sections 321 and 324 of the Penal Code. The EFCC stated that all four individuals pleaded guilty to the charges. Upon reviewing the cases, the prosecution presented exhibits, including the defendants’ confessional statements, electronic devices, and funds recovered from them.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of various items linked to the crimes. Olaitan was ordered to forfeit $2,000, an iPhone XR and a Samsung phone. Maruf forfeited an iPhone 13 Pro Max and $950, while Habeeb forfeited an iPhone 14 Pro Max, an HP laptop and $365. Mubarak’s forfeited items include an iPhone 15 Pro Max, an iPhone 7, and $300.
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