Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court has sentenced a student, Stanley Morrkua, to five years in prison on a one-count charge bordering on internet fraud.
Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the convict for impersonating one Major Michael Scales of the United States Army to dupe unsuspecting woman.
The count reads, “that you, Stanley Morrkua, male, on or about the 31st day of May, 2021 in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Major Michael Scales of the United States of America Army, when you created a Facebook account with the name Michael Scales and had correspondences with unsuspecting women, in such assumed character as Major Michael Scales in order to gain advantage for yourself as a military personnel of the United States of America which you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 142 (1) of the Penal Code Law, 2017 of Kaduna State and punishable under same law”.
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The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.
In view of his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Y.J Matiyak urged the judge to convict him accordingly.
Justice Khobo convicted and sentenced the defendant to five years imprisonment with an option N150,000 fine.
He is also to forfeit to the Federal Government all gadgets used to perpetrate the crime, including one HP Laptop and an Infinity S5.
The convict was arrested alongside members of his syndicate by operatives of the Commission in a sting operation around Jaji, Kaduna State.