On Monday, January 31, 2022, the EFCC’s Ilorin zonal Command secured the conviction of Abdulkazeem Ridwan, a 25-year-old phone repairer, for offenses bordering on cybercrime and possession of fraudulent funds.
Ridwan, of Surulere Local Government Area Ogbomoso, Oyo State, was charged on two counts before Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin.
Count 2 of the charge is as follows:
“That you, ABDULKAZEEM RIDWAN, knowingly had under your control, sometime between March 2021 and August 2021 at Ilorin within the Judicial Division of the Kwara State High Court, the gross sum of N232,000 (Two Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand Naira Only) which is reasonably suspected to have been obtained unlawfully and paid into your United Bank for Africa account number 2181380452 with name Ridwan Randy Abdulkazeem and thereby committed
The defendant admitted to the accusation and entered a guilty plea.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel Andrew Akoja met with Ali Mohammed, a Commission agent, to go over the facts of the case.
The witness described the events that led to the defendant’s arrest to the court. Documents and materials incriminating the defendants were tendered and admitted into evidence.
Following that, Akoja urged the court to consider the defendant’s admission of guilt, the testimony of the sole prosecution witness, and the exhibits tendered in order to convict the defendant as charged.
Ridwan was found guilty on both counts by Justice Akinpelu in her decision.
The defendant was sentenced to six months in prison on each of the two counts, to run concurrently, with the option of a fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) on each count.
The court also ordered the convict to forfeit an iPhone 11 and $80 (eighty dollars) in restitution to the federal government.
