Four jailed in Kaduna for online fraud, impersonation
Kaduna State High Court has convicted and sentenced four men—Promise Usman, Daniel Chinedu, Fahad Yusuf Badamasi, and Emmanuel Chidera Udochukwu for internet-related fraud and impersonation offenses.
The convicts were prosecuted by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate one-count charges bordering on impersonation, cheating, and obtaining by false pretence.
Usman, who operated under the alias “Maryam Mohammed” on Facebook, was accused of defrauding multiple victims of ₦450,000 by posing as an investment broker. Chinedu, under the false identity of American actress “Reese Witherspoon,” was said to have deceived a U.S. citizen, Gene Virmilya, into sending him $500.
All four pleaded guilty to the charges. While prosecution counsel M.O. Arumemi urged the court to convict and sentence them, their defence lawyers appealed for leniency, claiming the convicts had shown remorse.
Justice Isyaka sentenced Udochukwu and Badamasi to two years imprisonment each or a ₦300,000 fine. They also forfeited their mobile phones—Huawei Y6 Pro 2020 and iPhone 7, respectively—to the federal government.
Usman received a five-year sentence with an option of a ₦200,000 fine and forfeiture of an iPhone 13. Chinedu was also sentenced to five years or a ₦150,000 fine. His iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and $500 were ordered forfeited.
The EFCC arrested the suspects in Mahuta, Babar Saura, and Sabo areas of Kaduna following intelligence reports about their online fraud activities.
Four jailed in Kaduna for online fraud, impersonation
