The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Wednesday sentenced four internet fraudsters for separate one-count charges bordering on fraudulent impersonation and internet-related crimes.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, stating that the convicts are Martins Emmanuel, Abeeb Olamide Asiru, Iremide Owolabi, and Quadri Abdulrasheed Adio.

The EFCC said, “The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, secured the conviction and sentence of four internet fraudsters before Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.”

The anti-graft agency said the convicts were arrested on August 29 in a sting operation at Mambillah Hotel, Ikorodu, following credible intelligence about the activities of a syndicate of suspected internet fraudsters operating at the location.

One of the charges read, “That you, Abeeb Olamide Asiru (a.k.a. Dolly Parton), on or about 29th August, 2025, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, fraudulently impersonated one ‘Dolly Parton’ by holding yourself out as such on your Facebook account with intent to gain advantage for yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.”

Another charge read, “That you, Martins Emmanuel, sometime on the 29th of August, 2025, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, directly made a false statement wherein you held yourself out as a white woman by the name ‘Rose Heather56’ on your TikTok account, knowing the same to be false and with intent that the representation be relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of a 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.”

According to the EFCC, all the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, to review the facts of the case with the investigating officers, Ibrahim Bukar, Samson Aguma, and Ruth Odang, before tendering the defendants’ statements and mobile devices recovered from them.

“Justice Dipeolu, consequently, convicted and sentenced Emmanuel to three months’ imprisonment, with the option of a fine of N600,000.00 (six hundred thousand naira). The judge also convicted and sentenced Asiru to six months’ imprisonment, with the option of a fine of N2,000,000.00 (two million naira). Both Owolabi and Adio were each sentenced to three months imprisonment, with the option of a fine of N800,000.00 (eight hundred thousand naira).

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the convicts’ mobile devices to the federal government.