Admin l Wednesday, May 23, 2018
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Justice Serifat Solebo has fixed Friday this week to decide the fate of an Internet fraudster (Yahoo Yahoo boy), Taiwo Michael Okunowo on allegation of fraud and forgery. Taiwo Okunowo was arraigned before the court on a one count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
His action is contrary to 363(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No. 11 of 2011. According to the EFCC counsel, Mr. Anselem Ozioko, the defendant on December 16, last year made a false documents with intent to use as genuine to defraud people. Mr. Ozioko tendered Government Compensation Winning Certificate, Treasure Grant Winners Certificate and a Facebook account page of the defendant where he bears another name as exhibit before the court.
The prosecutor also asked the court to forfeit the defendant Toyota Camry car, been proceed of fraud and the HP laptop been an instrument used to facilitate the forgery and fraud act.
“Based on the intelligence tip off of his suspicious activities and his syndicate, a convert operation was carried out by the EFCC on December 16 last year, whereupon the defendant was arrested alongside several of his partners in crime. The defendant was taken to the Lagos Zonal Office of the EFCC where he was processed and the items recovered from him particularly his HP Laptop computer was analyzed through forensic examination of the EFCC ICT Lab.
“The analysis revealed that the defendant is a carreer internet fraudster popularly known as ‘yahoo yahoo’. Several documents containing false pretences were found in his possession and printed from his HP Laptop computer such as document containing conversation in which he falsely represented himself to one Michael Smith as a white female with the name Holly Herlich,” Ozioko said.
At today’s proceeding, the defendant counsel, a Senior Advocate, Mr. Olusegun Odubela informed the court of his client intention to change his plea from not guilty to guilty and that they have entered into plea bargain agreement with the EFCC. Mr. Ozioko who confirmed the development did not opposed the oral application. He however urged the court to convict the defendant to one year imprisonment accordingly. After listen to submission of the counsels, Justice Solebo adjourned the matter for conviction and sentencing of the defendant.
