On Wednesday, July 7, Justice C.L. Dabup of the Plateau State High Court in Jos sentenced three online fraudsters, Nbubuisi Kerian Ozomba, Paul Obide, and Samuel Chukwuebuka Nduchukwe, to one month in jail for collecting money via the social media site Facebook under false pretences.
Following information on their suspected participation in an internet-related fraud, the suspects were detained in a sting operation by the EFCC’s Abuja Zonal Office.
“Investigation revealed that Ozomba created a Facebook account under the name James Hicks with a profile picture of an American military officer and received $350 USD from Mary Lovely, a Filipino; while Obide (alias Javier Espinal) posed as a Spanish military officer and received $2000 from another Filipino, Lovina. He said the money was for his ill daughter’s care.
Nduchukwe also established a Facebook account using the name Alpha Benedict, a US Army soldier stationed in Afghanistan, and used it to defraud Christy Serue of $510, according to an EFCC statement.
All of the defendants pled guilty to the accusations brought against them. S.N. Robert, an attorney for the EFCC, asked the court to find them guilty and punish them in line with the plea bargain deal they willingly signed with the Commission.
As a result, the Court sentenced them to a month in jail. They were offered the alternative of paying a fine of N150, 000 apiece.
