Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced an internet fraudster, Sodiq Adewale, to a year imprisonment, for being in possession of forged documents, which he used to defraud his victims of $87,300.
The convict was re-arraigned before the court on one count amended charge of the offence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The prosecutor, Mrs. Fadekemi Giwa, told the court that the convict, who was previously arraigned before the court had approached the commission for a plea bargain agreement.
She told the court that following the convict’s decision, the charge against him was amended and a plea bargain agreement was signed by the convict, his counsel and herself, the prosecutor.
Justice Dada ordered that the amended charge be read to the convict for his plea to be taken and he pleaded guilty.
His counsel, Ademola Adefolaju, pleaded with the court to be lenient in sentencing his client, taking into consideration that he is a first-time offender and he did not waste the precious time of the court.
He also urged the court to give his client the option of a fine in lieu of custodian sentence.
Justice Dada, therefore, sentenced the convict to a three-year imprisonment with an option of N3 million in lieu of the jail-term.
