By Nkechi Eze
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of two internet fraudsters, Asimiyu Oluwaponmile Olatunji and Hassan Makinde, before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the duo were among 93 suspected fraudsters arrested on Sunday, August 10, 2025, during a sting operation at a hotel within the precincts of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
They were arraigned on Thursday, August 21, 2025, on separate one-count charges bordering on impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud. One of the charges against Olatunji read: “That you, ASIMIYU OLUWAPONMILE OLATUNJI (male), sometime in August, 2025, at Lagos, within the Lagos jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, fraudulently opened a Facebook Account with the name Janet Milner, and held out yourself as such, and deceitfully obtained the sum of $350 (Three Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars), thereby committing an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (3)(a) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition etc.) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2015.”
Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges. Prosecution counsel Pereagbe Ebareotu and S.M. Yabo reviewed the facts of the cases and tendered key exhibits, including the convicts’ mobile devices, extra-judicial statements, a forensic report, and a manager’s cheque of N350,000 issued as restitution by Olatunji. Justice Dipeolu admitted the exhibits in evidence.
Despite passionate pleas for leniency by the defence, who described the convicts as remorseful first-time offenders, the judge convicted and sentenced Olatunji who admitted benefitting $350 from his fraudulent scheme to three months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine. His iPhone 12 and the restitution cheque were forfeited to the Federal Government.
Makinde, who confessed to defrauding his victim of $10,000 Australian dollars (about N1.5 million), was equally sentenced to three months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine. His iPhone 16 was also ordered forfeited to the Federal Government.
The convictions mark another milestone in the EFCC’s ongoing crackdown on cybercrime syndicates uncovered during the OOPL sting operation, which has already led to multiple prosecutions.
