By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a 30-year-old man, Yusuf Yusuf Olarewaju, for alleged internet fraud-related offences before Justice Adebayo Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.

Olarewaju was reportedly arrested on October 23, 2022 following actionable intelligence about the activities of some syndicates of fraudsters operating in the town.

The defendant was arrested and found to be in possession of one iphone 14 Pro Max, one Toyota Corolla 2005 Model Car, one Mercedes Benz GLK 2010 Model and a Toyota Camry 2013 Model Car.

Investigations revealed that Olarewaju, while using a fraudulent email, [email protected], allegedly posed as one Smith Katie, a white female from Missouri, USA, to strike relationships with one James Gibson (Jimmy) and Stephen Speer, both of whom he swindled to the tune of $30,000 USD between 2021 and 2022.

The defendant was said to have confessed to the crime and was consequently charged to court on one count by the anti-graft agency.

The charge reads: “That you, YUSUF YUSUF OLAREWAJU, sometime between 16th January, 2022 and 13th October, 2022 at Erin-Ile, within the judicial division of this Kwara State High Court, did knowingly had under your control, the gross sum of N39,722,319 (Thirty Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Nineteen Naira) deposited in your Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd account number 0226365092 which is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 319 (a) of the Penal Code Law.”

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him, and upon his plea, counsel to the EFCC, Andrew Akoja, reviewed the facts of the case through a witness, who narrated the circumstances leading to the arrest of the defendant.

The witness, who is an operative of the EFCC, tendered some documents, including the device used as instrumentality of the crime and the keys to the cars recovered from the defendant, which were admitted in evidence.

Akoja, thereafter, urged the court to convict the defendant based on his unequivocal plea of guilt and the uncontroverted evidence of the prosecution’s witness.

However, Olarewaju’s counsel, M. A Bello, cross-examined the prosecution witness to the effect that, the defendant had left “yahoo business” since January 2022, and that the cars recovered from him were intended to start up car business.

Justice Yusuf adjourned to November 23, 2022 for judgment and ordered the remand of the defendant in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Ilorin.