On Wednesday, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Ikeja Special Offences Court sentenced one Amos Ebadamioria, 35, to one year at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for an internet dating scam.

Delivering her judgment, Abike-Fadipe sentenced Ebadamioria after he pleaded guilty to the charge of obtaining false pretences.

The judge, however, gave the convict an option of a 100-hour community service instead of the term in the correctional centre.

She also ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s iPhone 6 plus to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to her, the convict was mature, should have behaved properly, and should have been accountable for his actions.

She said, “I have heard the convict say he had an accident and lost his job for which he engaged in cybercrime after three years. 

“But he is a mature person and should have known better.”

Ms Abike-Fadipe said that having found Ebadamioria guilty of the charge, the convict was sentenced to one year in prison with an option of 100 hours of community service.

“He shall serve out the remainder of the time in a custodial centre any day he misses the hour of community service,” she noted.

Earlier, the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Godsent Akhanolu, in his review of the facts of the case, had told the court that the operatives of the Commission arrested the convict in Abule-Egba after they acted on an intelligence report on September 19, 2023.

Mr Akhanolu told the court that EFCC recovered an iPhone 6 plus from the convict upon his arrest. When analysed, it contained fraudulent documents in which the latter represented himself as a female to receive money from unsuspecting men.

He said that the convict voluntarily wrote a statement while in custody and acknowledged the fraudulent documents found on his phone.

The copies of the statement and Ebadamioria’s iPhone 6 plus were admitted in evidence, following no objections from the defence counsel, Melvin Obadan.

Mr Obadan, in his allocutus (plea for mercy), had prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.

According to him, the convict was a breadwinner of his family, hence urged the court to grant him an option of fine.

Also, the convict pleaded for mercy and told the court he was a changed man.

According to him, he committed the crime because he had an accident and lost his job.

The prosecution submitted that the offence committed contravened section 320 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

(NAN)