Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, On May 3, 2023 convicted and sentenced Ume Ifechukwu Clinton to one year imprisonment for defrauding a Belgian caregiver and educator, Axelle Mahieu, of €45,000 through a well-planned online fraud.
Clinton, who was 30 years old, had been arraigned on February 22, 2023, on an amended three-count charge, which included possession of fraudulent documents and impersonation.
He pleaded guilty to all the counts after being overwhelmed by the evidence presented against him.
During the trial, the EFCC counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, called an investigative officer with the EFCC, Damilare Adeosun, who testified against Clinton.
Adeosun narrated how the
EFCC acted on an intelligence report from the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, FIJ, indicating that Clinton disguised as an EFCC officer to defraud the Belgian.
The defendant had presented himself to Mahieu as a staff member of the EFCC and introduced her to a non-existing cryptocurrency investment, while assuring her that she was in safe hands.
Clinton had gone into hiding, but investigators had to use technology to smoke him out on October 18, 2022, at No 46 Atoke Gbadebo Street, Isheri, Lagos.
Clinton was found to have made the forged ID card in Owerri with N3,000 in order to gain the trust of the victim.
He transferred the money received from his victim through cryptocurrency to his own Binance account and exchanged it through p2p, crediting the same in Naira to his bank accounts in Nigeria.
He depleted all the money using the same to buy expensive wristwatches, a piece of land for clubbing, and also sharing with random friends.
The prosecution tendered in evidence various documents, which were all admitted as exhibits against the defendant.
Justice Dada declared him guilty as charged and sentenced him to one year in prison.
She also ordered that the items recovered from him be forfeited and sold as part of restitution to the victim.
Clinton was ordered to restitute the €45,000 to the victim within three months and to enter into a bond with the EFCC, upon his release, that he will never again engage in criminal activity within or outside the shores of the country.
The court gave him an option of a fine of N500,000 in lieu of his prison term, “in view of his obvious remorse, timeous plea, and the passionate plea of his counsel.”
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