A Kaduna State High Court has sentenced two residents, Musa Abdulmalik and Sunday Godwin, to a combined nine years’ imprisonment for cheating by impersonation, following their conviction for defrauding victims through social media platforms.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted the convicts before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court on separate one-count charges of cheating by impersonation.
Abdulmalik was found guilty of posing as “Lynn Ben,” a female adult entertainer on Telegram, defrauding a victim of $80. Godwin, meanwhile, allegedly impersonated a TikTok user, “Chrismitchellprivateacc3,” and cheated several victims of a total of $400 Australian dollars.
According to the charge read against Abdulmalik: “That you, Musa Abdulmalik (a.k.a Lynn Ben), sometime in January, 2026 at Kaduna, Kaduna State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, committed cheating by impersonation when you falsely presented yourself as Lynn Ben, a female and adult entertainer via Telegram (an online social media application) in that assumed character cheated one BJK of the total sum of $80USD (Eighty United States American Dollars) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law, 2017 of Kaduna State and Punishable under Section 309 of the same Law.”
The charge read against Godwin stated: “That you, Sunday Godwin (a.k.a Chrismitchellprivateacc3) sometime in 2025 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, cheated several unsuspecting victims of the sum total of $400.00 (Four Hundred Australian dollars, only) when you pretended to be one Chrismitchellprivateacc3 on Tiktok (a social media application), and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law, 2017 of Kaduna State and Punishable under Section 309 of the same Law.”
Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges, after which the prosecution counsel, M.E. Eimonye, urged the court to convict and sentence them according to the law.
Delivering judgement, Justice Bello sentenced Abdulmalik to five years’ imprisonment, or an option of a ₦300,000 fine.
In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra mobile phone and $80, identified as the proceeds of his crime, to the Federal Government.
Godwin was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, or a ₦300,000 fine, with the court also directing the forfeiture of an iPhone 13 and $400 Australian dollars, the tools and proceeds of his fraudulent activities, to the Federal Government.
