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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The long arm of the law has caught up with five internet fraudsters as Justices Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, and Justices Sulaiman Akanbi and Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court on Court Jail Five Over Internet Fraud, Order Restitution
By Lizzy Chirkpi
The long arm of the law has caught up with five internet fraudsters as Justices Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, and Justices Sulaiman Akanbi and Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court on Monday day convicted and sentenced them to varying jail terms and community service over cybercrime-related offences.
The convicts: Ayinla Abiodun Abdulmajid, Yusuf Abdulazeez Onimisi, Muhammed Zayad Eneye, Abdulbasit Abdulmumeen, and Victor Onucheyo Anibe were arraigned on separate charges by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This was disclosed in a statement by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media & Publicity for the EFCC, on July 14, 2025.
According to the EFCC, “Abdulmajid, Onimisi and Eneye were jailed by Justice Awogboro while Abdulmumeen and Anibe were sentenced by Justices Akanbi and Saleeman respectively.”
In one of the charges, the EFCC alleged:
“That you, AYINLA ABIODUN ABDULMAJID (Alias: Michael Cavezza), sometime between March and May, 2025 within the Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did fraudulently impersonate one Michael Cavezza via your Google Hangout account with the intent to obtain from one Kirsty Reid and did obtain the gross sum of $1,003 (One Thousand, Three USD) thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition & Prevention) Act 2015 and punishable under section 22 (2)(b)(IV) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges when read to them in court.
Prosecution counsels; Innocent Mbachie, Sesan Ola, and Mustapha Kaigama reviewed the facts of each case, presented witnesses, and tendered the convicts’ extra-judicial statements and recovered items. They urged the courts to convict the defendants accordingly.
In his ruling, Justice Awogboro sentenced Abdulmajid to nine months imprisonment without the option of a fine, and ordered the forfeiture of $702, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, a Redmi phone, and an HP laptop to the Federal Government.
Onimisi bagged three months behind bars without an option of fine, with the forfeiture of $300 and a Samsung S31.
Muhammed Zayad Eneye was sentenced to 400 hours of community service, also without an option of fine, and ordered to forfeit his HP laptop used in committing the crime respectively.
At the Kwara State High Court, Justice Sulaiman Akanbi sentenced Abdulmumeen to two years imprisonment with an option of ₦400,000 fine. He was also directed to sweep the premises of the court for two months under the supervision of the Nigeria Correctional Service Probation Officer.
The court further ordered the forfeiture of $145 and an iPhone 11. Similarly, Justice Haleema Saleeman handed Victor Onucheyo Anibe a two-year jail term with an option of ₦600,000 fine, and ordered the forfeiture of ₦4 million restituted funds, one iPhone 16 Pro Max and a Samsung phone to the Federal Government.
The EFCC said all five individuals were arrested at different times for cybercrimes, arraigned, and convicted based on overwhelming evidence.
“These convictions reinforce our resolve to sanitize the digital space and bring perpetrators of internet-related offences to justice,” the EFCC stated. convicted and sentenced them to varying jail terms and community service over cybercrime-related offences.
The convicts: Ayinla Abiodun Abdulmajid, Yusuf Abdulazeez Onimisi, Muhammed Zayad Eneye, Abdulbasit Abdulmumeen, and Victor Onucheyo Anibe were arraigned on separate charges by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This was disclosed in a statement by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media & Publicity for the EFCC, on July 14, 2025.
According to the EFCC, “Abdulmajid, Onimisi and Eneye were jailed by Justice Awogboro while Abdulmumeen and Anibe were sentenced by Justices Akanbi and Saleeman respectively.”
In one of the charges, the EFCC alleged:
“That you, AYINLA ABIODUN ABDULMAJID (Alias: Michael Cavezza), sometime between March and May, 2025 within the Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did fraudulently impersonate one Michael Cavezza via your Google Hangout account with the intent to obtain from one Kirsty Reid and did obtain the gross sum of $1,003 (One Thousand, Three USD) thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition & Prevention) Act 2015 and punishable under section 22 (2)(b)(IV) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges when read to them in court.
Prosecution counsels; Innocent Mbachie, Sesan Ola, and Mustapha Kaigama reviewed the facts of each case, presented witnesses, and tendered the convicts’ extra-judicial statements and recovered items. They urged the courts to convict the defendants accordingly.
In his ruling, Justice Awogboro sentenced Abdulmajid to nine months imprisonment without the option of a fine, and ordered the forfeiture of $702, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, a Redmi phone, and an HP laptop to the Federal Government.
Onimisi bagged three months behind bars without an option of fine, with the forfeiture of $300 and a Samsung S31.
Muhammed Zayad Eneye was sentenced to 400 hours of community service, also without an option of fine, and ordered to forfeit his HP laptop used in committing the crime respectively.
At the Kwara State High Court, Justice Sulaiman Akanbi sentenced Abdulmumeen to two years imprisonment with an option of ₦400,000 fine. He was also directed to sweep the premises of the court for two months under the supervision of the Nigeria Correctional Service Probation Officer. The court further ordered the forfeiture of $145 and an iPhone 11.
Similarly, Justice Haleema Saleeman handed Victor Onucheyo Anibe a two-year jail term with an option of ₦600,000 fine, and ordered the forfeiture of ₦4 million restituted funds, one iPhone 16 Pro Max and a Samsung phone to the Federal Government.
The EFCC said all five individuals were arrested at different times for cybercrimes, arraigned, and convicted based on overwhelming evidence.
“These convictions reinforce our resolve to sanitize the digital space and bring perpetrators of internet-related offences to justice,” the EFCC stated.