Port Harcourt university student sentenced to three years in jail for cyber fraud
Judge E.A. Oble of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, convicted and sentenced University of Calabar undergraduate Peter Ayigi Againpriye to three years in prison for impersonation, obtaining money by false means and possessing fraudulent documents. Violation of section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Payment Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act and is punishable under section 1 (3).
He was convicted on Monday, July 17, 2023, after pleading “guilty” to three charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Port Harcourt Regional Command (EFCC).
One of the charges alleges, “You, Peter Ayigi Againpriye (aka Diana Wilson), in Port Harcourt, River State, within the jurisdiction of this Tribunal, with intent to defraud, did obtain three thousand euros on or about March 6, 2023 Only (€3,000,00), from Keess Van Darr falsely representing that you are investing in Forex, knowing that this representation is false, you have therefore committed an offense against section 1 (1) (a) and may Section (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act”.
The other count reads: “You, Peter Ayigi Againpriye (aka Diana Wilson), fraudulently impersonated Diana Wilson in Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this court, on or about 16 March 2023 , with intent to gain his own benefit, thereby committing an offense contrary to section 22(2)(b)(i) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 shall be punishable under the same section of the Act” .
In light of the accused’s “guilty plea,” the prosecution’s attorney, E. K. Ebipade, called witnesses and presented documents proving the case.
Items for bid include: iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone XR, statement from defendant, consent form to search equipment, certificate of compliance, and fraudulent documents printed from defendant’s Instagram account. All submissions were accepted by the court and marked as Exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
ASE 1, Albert Kukah, a member of the committee’s staff, told the court when led by evidence that the accused had committed suicide at a golf estate in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, sometime in June 2023. He was arrested in an operation dubbed “Eagle Sweep” on suspicion of cyber fraud.
He revealed that the investigation revealed that the defendant was involved in online fraud, opened multiple Gmail, Instagram and Facebook accounts, and impersonated Diana Wilson (Diana Wilson) in a chat with Keess Van Darr, defrauding him of 3,000 euros.
Based on the documents filed and the testimony of PW 1, the prosecution requested the court to convict and sentence the accused.
Defense attorney B.J. Jeffrey did not oppose the prosecution’s prayers, but urged the court to administer justice in a merciful manner.
Judge O’Bill convicted and sentenced the defendant to one year’s imprisonment for each count and imposed a fine of fifty thousand naira (N50, 000.00).
Judge further orders iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone XR seized from criminals to be confiscated to Federal Republic of Nigeria
arewanahiya.com
