The Economic And Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Lagos branch has reportedly arraigned a man in court on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, on charges bordering on Internet fraud.
The suspect identified as Temitope Alani Teslim, was arraigned on a amended 22-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents.
Appearing before Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, it was revealed that the suspect was arrested around Ogaba, Lagos, by the Nigerian Army on May 16, 2018, after which he was handed over to the EFCC.
According to the reports, the investigation yielded three statements from the suspect, in which he admitted to running dating scams.
Temitope was subsequently re-arraigned today, Wednesday, January 23.
Read a section of one of the counts against Temitope:
“That you, Temitope Alani Teslim (aka Hannah Ciar), on or about the 25th of June 2018 at Lagos, within the Ikeja judicial division, had in your possession a document titled ‘My Discussion With Stevieboy66’, wherein you represented yourself as a white female, Hannah Ciar, to one Stevieboy66, thereby containing pretence which you knew to be false.”
Count two reads: “That you, Temitope Alani Teslim (aka Hannah Ciar), on or about the 25th of June 2018 at Lagos, within the Ikeja judicial division, had in your possession a document titled ‘Happy Hump Day’ containing pretence which you knew to be false.”
LIB reports that the suspect pleaded guilty to the charges, after which prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, informed the court that Temitope told had entered a plea bargain with the EFCC, the terms of which were read to the court.
Based on the terms of the agreement arrived upon by the prosecution and defence teams, the suspect was sentenced to one year and four months in jail by the judge presiding over the case.
He was also ordered to forfeit his assets, including an iPhone 7, a silver Acer Chrome and battery power pack, which he reportedly used “as the instrumentality of fraud,” to the Federal Government.
