The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced eight female Filipinos to one year imprisonment each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
Aside from that, the court ordered that the convicts be repatriated to their country after fulfilling their conviction as punishment for their action.
The convicts were: Beverlyn Casino, Mae Eribal, Mary Grace Dela Cruz, Jamal Polea, Tricia Castro, Rai Camara, Cherry De Leon and Danica Jarapan.
They were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on separate charges of possession of fraudulent documents.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Beverlyn Casino sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain a financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
After the charges were read to them, they all pleaded guilty to the charges, appealing for leniency from the judge.
In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, N.K. Ukoha, prayed the court to convict the defendants as charged.
After listening to the plea, Justice Alexander Owoeye convicted and sentenced the defendants to one year imprisonment each, with a fine of N1 million.
The Judge also ordered the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS, to ensure that the convicts are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days upon completion of their sentences.
The devices recovered from the defendants were also ordered forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convicts’ journey to the Correctional Centre began when they were arrested by operatives of the EFCC for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
They are among the 792 suspects rounded up in December 2024 in Victoria Island, Lagos. They were charged to court and jailed.
