The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, and presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda has sentenced Calabar based yahoo boy, Onoriode Akpojivi, to six months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine.
Akpojivi, a 29-year-old graduate of the Delta State University, Abraka, and a father of two, was arrested and arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a one count of involvement in cybercrime.
Blinks or Mr White, as he is popularly known in Calabar, confessed to having offshore accounts in China and narrated, under interrogation, how he started defrauding people while he was still an undergraduate.
His charge read, “That you, Onoriode Joel Akpojivi, on or about the 4th day of May, 2019, in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did unlawfully produce, supply, procure for use and distributed a computer programme (fake online banking link platform) designed for the purpose of electronically defrauding unsuspecting persons, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 28 (1) (a) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section (1) (c) of the same Act.” Akpojivi chose not to waste the time of the court as he pleaded guilty to the charge, after the EFCC brought the weight of evidence gathered against him.
In view of his plea, counsel for the EFCC, A. S. Abuh, informed the court of a plea bargain arrangement between the convict and the commission dated June 19, 2019, and filed on June 20, 2019.
Delivering judgement, Justice Amobeda said, “It is a known fact that crimes of this nature appear now to be prevalent in our time. I do hereby sentence the convict to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of N500,000.
“The convict shall forfeit to the Federal Government of Nigeria the instruments used in the commission of the offence being thus: Acura ZDX with number plate Lagos SMK 245 DQ; Range Rover Envogue with number plate Lagos FST 772 EQ; Mercedes Benz E300 with number plate Lagos LSD 393 EG; and the seven-bedroom duplex situated at Victory Way Extension, Satellite Town, Calabar, Cross River State.”
Akpojivi was picked up at his lush duplex on Plot 10 Block VI, Unical Satellite Town, Calabar by the Uyo Zonal Office of the EFCC on Saturday, May 4, 2019, following intelligence report exposing him of living above his means.
