The Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, May 27, 2022, secured the conviction and sentencing of one Dare Tolulope before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences sitting in Ikeja, Lagos for an offence bordering on possession of fraudulent documents, contrary to Section 318 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The convict was accused of perpetrating internet fraud through the use of fraudulent documents and charged with an amended one-count charge.
The charge reads: “Dare Tolulope, on or about the month of July 2021 in Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, had in your possession a document containing Social Security number 2446061738 belonging to one Eric Munro, which you knew or ought to have known contains false pretence.”
He pleaded ” guilty” to the charge.
The prosecuting counsel, O. Adewunmi, who also gave a review of the facts, informed the Court that the defendant, through his counsel, approached the prosecution for a plea bargain, thereby necessitating the amendment of the charge.
She further told the Court that the defendant was arrested alongside some others at Osapa-Lodon, Lekki, Lagos State, during a raid conducted by operatives of the EFCC acting on intelligence report.
The defendant, she said, was interrogated upon his arrest and the Samsung S8 phone recovered from him also forensically analysed.
She said: “The result of the forensic examination was a number of fraudulent documents containing false pretence.
“They were shown to the defendant, and he admitted that they belonged to him.
“He also admitted that he was a middle man, who provided fraudulent documents to perpetrate online fraud, and had made $200.”
Adewunmi, thereafter, tendered in evidence the statement of the defendant, the fraudulent documents printed out from his device, his statement restituting the $200 and the phone recovered from him.
There was no objection from the defence counsel, Charles Akinpelu.
Thereafter, the Court admitted them in evidence as Exhibits P to P3.
Following his guilty plea, Justice Dada pronounced him guilty as charged and sentenced him to one year in prison, with an option of fine of N500,000.
Items recovered from him were also ordered forfeited to the Federal Government