A Higher National Diploma (HND) Mechanical Engineering student of the Mashood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Ojere in Ogun State, Olalekan Oladapo Ogunremi, was on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, found guilty of criminal impersonation and sentenced to six months in prison. 

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The 21-year-old actually found favour before Justice Patricia Ajoku of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division, who commuted the one-year punishment, proposed for his offence to six months.

The judge succumbed to the passionate appeal of his lawyer who informed the court that his client had missed two examination sessions owing to the criminal charge filed against him by the Ibadan zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Ogunremi had pleaded guilty to the one-count amended charge with which he was arraigned on Wednesday consequent upon a plea bargain arrangement between him and the Commission.

The offence contravenes Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section 22 (2)(iv) of the same Act.

Following his ‘guilty’ plea, the prosecution counsel Babatunde Sonoiki had prayed the court to sentence Ogunremi according to the terms contained in the plea bargain agreement he and the defence lawyer, Tunde Lawal, jointly signed.

Though the judge reduced the jail term, she upheld other proposed punishments contained in the agreement, including forfeiture of items recovered during his arrest and investigation, and restitution of sums in foreign currency to his victims.

In a related development, the Ibadan office of the anti-graft Commission also arraigned two other suspects before Justice Ajoku.

The suspects – Samuel Tanimowo Owolabi (aka Dr. Keilah Forgey, Jame Romero, Romero Williams) and Ekene Kingsley Odinamba – were separately arraigned on charges bordering on obtaining money under false pretence and possession of fraudulent documents with the intent to defraud.

Their offences were contrary to Section 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.