Five young men arrested during a major anti-cybercrime raid at a hotel within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library complex in Abeokuta have been convicted and sentenced by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. Justice Deinde Dipeolu delivered the judgment on Monday, marking the first set of convictions from the 93 suspects picked up during the EFCC’s August 10 sting operation.
The convicts, identified as Christian Okoli, Emmanuel Adeleye, Akinyele Kehinde Fatai, Shonekan Waris Bolaji, and Olufemi Korede Ayomiposi, all pleaded guilty to separate charges involving romance scams, impersonation, and identity theft. Each of them admitted to defrauding unsuspecting victims through different online schemes that the EFCC described as part of a growing wave of cybercrime targeting local and international victims.
Okoli, who had been arrested in July with a Samsung S23 Ultra and incriminating files, refunded N300,000 before his conviction. The court sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment or an alternative fine of N1 million and ordered the forfeiture of both the money and his device to the Federal Government. Adeleye, caught during the August 10 raid, confessed to romance scam activities but avoided jail. Instead, Justice Dipeolu directed him to serve one month of community service under the supervision of the Nigerian Correctional Service, requiring him to carry a placard from morning till evening with the inscription: “Crime does not pay.”
Fatai admitted to swindling victims of $2,000. He returned N500,000 through an Access Bank cheque and was sentenced to six months in prison with the option of paying a N3 million fine. Shonekan, on the other hand, told the court that he joined romance scams in 2024 and even had ties to a U.S.-based gang member currently imprisoned in California. The judge sentenced him to 30 days’ imprisonment starting from his arrest on August 10. Ayomiposi confessed to earning $2,800 from online scams. He refunded N1 million and was found with an iPhone 13 Pro Max and another Android phone. The court sentenced him to 30 days in prison from his arrest date, ordering the forfeiture of both devices and the refunded amount to the government.
The EFCC’s sting operation at the OOPL hotel on August 10 led to the arrest of 93 individuals linked to romance scams and other internet frauds, making it one of the agency’s most extensive crackdowns in Ogun State this year. While only five convictions were secured on Monday, many more suspects from the raid are expected to face trial in the coming weeks as the commission continues its fight against cybercrime.
Cybercrime, popularly referred to as “Yahoo Yahoo” in Nigeria, has become a pressing concern for law enforcement agencies, with the EFCC stressing that its ongoing clampdown is meant to safeguard Nigeria’s reputation and discourage young people from engaging in internet fraud. Monday’s ruling, according to observers, reinforces the message that online scams will not go unpunished and that those caught will face the full weight of the law.