By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday convicted and sentenced a 22-year-old yahoo boy, Ibrahim Babatunde Ayomide to nine months imprisonment for dating and loto scam.
Justice Faji handed down the sentence after Ayomide pleaded guilty to a one count charge of directly making false statement wherein he held himself out as a white woman on his Facebook profile, knowing same to be false and with intent that the representation is relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of financial instrument to himself.
Aside the nine months jail term, the court also ordered the forfeiture of a Lexus X 350 Jeep purchased with proceed of the said crime, an iphone pro max 14, HP laptop and an I-watch to the Federal Government.
The convict is also to forfeit the sum of N250,000 left in his bank account to the Federal Government.
The convict after pleading guilty to the charge said he made the sum of of $5,000 from the scam and used most of it to buy the Lexus Jeep.
Under interrogation by the trial judge as to why he takes to such a dangerous path at a very tender age of his life, Ayomide, who said he finished secondary school SS3 in the year 2020, said he joined the fashion design profession as an apprentice, but was influenced by bad friends to join the Yahoo boys rank.
While sentencing the convict, Justice Faji acknowledged the fact that he is a young man who had confessed to his crime at the earliest opportunity, he however, added that with the prevalence of such crime among Nigerian youths, there is need to impose some level of punishment to serve as deterrence to others that crime does not pay.
Consequently Justice Faji sentenced the convict to nine months imprisonment.
The one count charge against the convict reads: That you IBRAHIM BABATUNDE AYOMIDE in September, 2023 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court directly made a false statement wherein you held yourself out as white woman on your Facebook profile knowing same to be false and with intent that the representation is relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of financial instrument to yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act, 2015.
