Court jails fraudster for possession of fake documents
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Special Offences Court on Friday sentenced a man, Babatunde Sodiq, to a year imprisonment for possessing fraudulent documents.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned Sodiq on an amended one count of possession of fraudulent documents.
According to the EFCC, the offence occurred on May 14, 2024, in Lagos State.
Sodiq was accused of having in his possession a bundle of documents that he “knew or ought to have known was false.”
The commission said that the offence contravened Section 320 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
Upon arraignment, the convict pleaded guilty to the charge.
In light of his plea, the EFCC prosecuting counsel, T.J. Banjo, requested that the court should hear the case facts from the prosecution’s witness.
The witness, John Enemali, an investigative officer with the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate, reviewed the case details for the court.
He testified that the EFCC received intelligence about the activities of an “Organised Cybercrime Syndicate Network” operating around the Ajegunle, Apapa area in Lagos in April 2024.
“Acting on the intel, surveillance was conducted, and a raid was carried out on April 25 2024 around 06:00 hours, leading to the arrest of the convict along with others. He was subsequently taken to the EFCC office,” Enemali explained.
He stated that Sodiq later admitted to his involvement in spamming and cryptocurrency scams, using the alias “Michael Scott” and claiming to be based in Florida, USA.
Upon his arrest, officers found an iPhone 11 on him, which, according to Enemali, “yielded fraudulent documents following forensic analysis.”
Further investigations revealed that Sodiq had profited $250 from his activities, the witness said.
After the review of the case, the prosecution applied to tender as evidence Sodiq’s statements, the fraudulent documents, the iPhone 11, and a manager’s cheque for N100,000, which Sodiq used as restitution.
Defence counsel, Kelvin Emonvuan, raised no objections, and the court admitted all the items into evidence.
The defence chose not to cross-examine the witness, after which the judge pronounced Sodiq guilty.
Emonvuan then made a plea for leniency, arguing that Sodiq was a “first-time offender who did not waste the court’s time by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity” and had vowed never to re-offend.
Given the chance to address the court, Sodiq apologised and explained how he created a fake Facebook account to lure his victim.
Justice Oshodi consequently sentenced Sodiq to one year in prison.
The judge also ordered that all items recovered from the convict should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
In consideration of the plea for mercy, the court allowed Sodiq the option of paying a fine of N500,000.
