A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday convicted six undergraduates for internet-related offences.
YaahooJournalist reports that the six undergraduates were sentenced by Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
Those sentenced by Justice Maha were Quarshie Nnamdi, Emmanuel Ogbole, Charles Iwu, Nuhu Usman, Ademoyegu Samson, and Adunmo Sesan.
Justice Maha convicted and sentenced them to varying terms ranging from three to six months imprisonment, with the option of fines N300, 000, after they pleaded guilty to all the charges preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
While sentencing the convicts, Justice Maha ordered them to forfeit some of the items seized from them. The items include laptops, phones among others recovered from them during investigations to the Federal Government.
The presiding judge also ordered the convicts to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour and never to be involved in any other form of fraud within and outside the country, adding that failure to comply will attract judicial sanctions.
Justice Maha ordered the convicts to refund all the monies fraudulently obtained from their victims.
Earlier, George Chia-Yakua, the EFCC prosecution counsel, informed the court that in June, the convicts were in possession of a document of Scanned FBI Logos and U.S. Naval Seal.
EFCC also said the convicts were caught with documents labelled U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces purportedly signed by Lt.- Gen. T.T Luis Rodulf and U.S Army Judge, Fort Knox, among others, which they knew contained false information.
The EFCC prosecution counsel said the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 33 of the Cybercrime Prohibition & Prevention Act, 2015 and section 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
However, due to the plea bargain agreements separately entered between them and the anti-graft-agency, the original charges were replaced with the amended charges as presented before the court on Friday.
