Kwara musician, Onojah, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for cybercrime

Samuel Onojah, a singer from Lokoja, and two other people were found guilty and given 20 years in prison for offences that had cybercrime-like characteristics by Justice Muhammed Sani of the Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Onojah, Victor Kadiyamo, and Jejelowo Segun were all found guilty of online fraud on Monday, September 12, 2022, and were sentenced to death.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's Ilorin Zonal Command presented them as defendants in court.

 The charge against Samuel read in part, “That you, Samuel Onojah, sometime in May 2022, at Lokoja, Kogi State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, fraudulently impersonated one, Richard Philips, via your Instagram account linked to your Gmail account: richardphilips6211@gmail.com with intent to obtain money from one Erika which you did obtain the sum of 8 pounds worth gift cards and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (2) (ii) of Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the same act.”

Following their pleas, the EFCC's attorney, Andrew Akoja, examined the case's facts and asked the judge to find the defendants guilty and sentence them appropriately.

Onojah was found guilty and given a three-year prison term on counts one and two, with an N100,000 fine as a possible alternative, by Justice Sani.

Kadiyamo was also found guilty and given a sentence of three years in prison on counts 1, 2, and 3. Counts 1 and 2 each carried a fine option of N100,000, while count 3 carried a fine option of N54,194,680.

In a similar vein, Segun was found guilty and given a five-year prison term with an N500,000 fine as a possible alternative.

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