By Nkechi Eze
The Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned five suspects Abulrazak Yusuf, Maxwell Gyang, Amos Samson, Abdulgawiy Jamilu, and Abel Dung Davou before Justice Amina A. Muhammad of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, Gombe State, on separate charges of impersonation and intent to defraud.
In an official statement issued by the Commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC revealed that the suspects were brought before the court on individual one-count charges, each related to cybercrime activities involving fake identities and attempts to defraud foreign nationals.
According to the charge sheet presented in court, one of the defendants, Maxwell Gyang, was specifically accused of creating fake social media profiles in the names of “Anna Katarzyn” on Facebook and “Francesca Macro” on Telegram X. Using a Tecno Spark 20C mobile phone, Gyang allegedly posed as the fictitious identities to defraud foreign nationals from Romania and Poland, including victims identified as Florina Flori, Robert Horis, and Floriff Floc, to the tune of $250.
The charge reads in part:
“That you, Maxwell Gyang, sometimes in 2025 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, with intent to defraud, did impersonate by creating a fake Facebook profile of Anna Katarzyn and Telegram X fake profile of Francesca Macro, using your Tecno Spark 20C mobile phone to defraud foreign nationals of Romania and Poland… thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2) (b) (i) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2025 and punishable under Section 22 (2) (iv) of the same Act.”
Upon arraignment, four of the defendants Yusuf, Gyang, Samson, and Jamilu pleaded guilty to their charges. However, the fifth defendant, Abel Dung Davou, entered a plea of “not guilty.”
Following the guilty pleas, prosecuting counsel M.D. Aliyu urged the court to convict and sentence the four accordingly, while requesting a trial date for Davou. Davou’s counsel submitted an application for bail.
Justice Amina A. Muhammad adjourned the matter until July 2, 2025, for the sentencing of the four defendants who pleaded guilty, ordering that they be remanded in EFCC custody in the interim. For Davou, who pleaded not guilty, the court fixed June 26, 2025, for the hearing of his bail application and ordered his remand at the Gombe Correctional Centre.
The arraignment is part of EFCC’s intensified efforts to combat cybercrime and protect both local and international victims from online fraud schemes.
