Justice Dehinde I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, convicted and sentenced one Ikpaka Courage to two years imprisonment for presenting himself as Chinedu Okoli, also known as Flavour, a Nigerian singer, to dupe a United States of America citizen, Mrs. Yvelte M. Thompson, of the sum of $53,000.
Courage, a graduate of Philosophy, was arraigned on Tuesday by the Lagos Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a two-count charge bordering on cybercrimes and money laundering.
Count one reads: “That you, Ikpaka Courage, sometime in April 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, directly made a false statement, wherein you held yourself out as a Nigerian entertainer by name
“Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania” on your Telegram account, knowing the same to be false and with the intent that the representation is relied upon to procure the issuance of financial instrument to yourself and thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 22(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015.”
Count two reads: “That you, Ikpaka Courage, sometime in April 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, indirectly retained the sum of $53,000 (Fifty-three Thousand USD) in your Access Bank Plc account number 0108866415, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: dishonest conversion of the said sum, property of Mrs. Yvette M. Thompson and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under section 18( 3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act,2022.”
He pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
Following his guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, S.I Suleiman, presented a witness, Azibagiri Dan Ekpar, an operative of the EFCC, to review the facts of the case.
The defendant, Ekpar said, was arrested in Lagos on June 10, 2024.
He added: “Upon his arrest by operatives of the Lagos Directorate, he volunteered his statement.
“In his statement, he confessed to having been involved in a dating scam, and that he used his platform to impersonate Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania.
“He also confessed to having obtained the sum of $53,000 (Fifty-three Thousand United States Dollars) from one Mrs. Yvette M. Thompson under the pretense that he would perform on her birthday in Washington DC in July 2021.
“The money was transferred through a Bitcoin wallet he created to receive the proceeds of crime.”
In his further review of the facts, Ekpar said: “He also admitted to having forged the Nigerian international passport data page of
Mr Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania also created a fictitious email address, which he used to communicate with the victim.
“He had restituted the sum of N7, 900,000 (Seven Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) by raising a managers’ Cheque.”
Suleiman, thereafter, applied to tender, in evidence, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, and bank’s statement, the printout of chats between him and the victim as well as the Bitcoin wallet statement from Binance.
Justice Dipeolu admitted them as exhibits.
Counsel to the convict, Bayo A. Phillip, prayed the court to “temper justice with mercy”, adding that “he is a first-time offender and he did not waste the time of the court.
“My Lord, he did not channel the proceeds of his offence into living lavishly; rather, he used it to further his education and is now a graduate of Philosophy.”
Consequently, Justice Dipeolu convicted and sentenced the defendant to one year imprisonment on count one, with an option of fine of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira).
He was also convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment on count two, with an option of fine of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira).
The Judge ordered that the money be forfeited to the petitioner and also remanded the convict in the EFCC custody pending the fulfillment of the order within 21 days.
Courage’s journey to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested by operatives of the Lagos Directorate of the EFCC for internet fraud. He was charged to court and convicted.
A discrete investigation was initiated to identify those responsible for the leakage, which led to the identification of Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri, Michael Temidayo Alade, and David Hundeyin, as suspects in connection with the alleged crimes.
The principal suspect, Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri was apprehended at a hotel in Port Harcourt on Saturday, 5th August 2024, by NPF-NCCC detectives, and in an attempt to resist arrest, the suspect locked himself in a hotel room, smashed his phone, and flushed it down the toilet in an effort to destroy evidence. He also refused to surrender his phone’s password, claiming he had forgotten it, thereby concealing information.
Subsequent investigations, after his arrest, revealed several suspicious activities between the principal suspect and his accomplices. Investigations also revealed that the suspect was responsible for leaking a sensitive restricted document generated from the office of the President to the Secretary of the Government of the Federation.
The suspect had also illegally accessed police-restricted data and posted directives from the office of the Inspector-General of Police, and many other restricted documents with the aim of jeopardizing the security network in Nigeria. It has also been established that the suspect also raised funds through anonymous means to sponsor cyberterrorism and other related crimes. Evidence of this was derived after critical forensic analysis of the suspect’s crypto wallet transactions.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun PhD. NPM., has reaffirmed the commitment of the Force to maintaining peace and also reiterated that the Nigeria Police Force remains vigilant to take swift and severe action against any individual or group threatening the country’s stability, ensuring they face the full force of the law.
The IGP assures members of the public that further investigations will continue to uncover all facets of this conspiracy. The suspect has however been charged to court and remanded in prison custody.
