Court Jails Man for $19,400 Bitcoin Fraud In Edo

Bitcoin fraud. The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction and sentence of Osamudiamen Philip Ikilo for fraud.

The convict was arraigned on one -count charge of stealing before Justice W.I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City.

Upon arraignment the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge, setting the stage for trial.

The charge reads: That you Osamudiamen Philip Ikilo (m) sometime in March 2024 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did steal Bitcoin worth the sum of $19,400 (Nineteen thousand, four Hundred United States Dollars) belonging to one Cynthia Imade Alile by fraudulently converting the said sum to your own use, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Edo State Law 2022 and punishable under Section 294 of the same Law.

Bitcoin

In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, A. S. Bala-Ribah called two witnesses and also tendered documents which were admitted by the court. On his part, the defendant called two witnesses including himself.
Delivering judgment on Monday, March 23, 2026 Justice Aziegbemhin found the defendant guilty of the charge and sentenced him to two years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Ikilo’s road to jail began when he offered to assist the petitioner convert her 0.52092582 Bitcoin worth $19,400 but failed to remit the money to the petitioner as he converted same to his personal use.

Ex-Convict Bags Three Years Imprisonment In Lagos Over N12m Theft

Ex-convict. Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, convicted and sentenced an ex-convict, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, to three years’ imprisonment for theft involving N12 million.

Adekola was arraigned on March 16, 2026, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, on a one-count amended charge bordering on stealing.

The charge stated that the defendant, alongside others still at large, in 2025 in Lagos, collaborated to conceal and disguise the origin of N12,000,000 paid into his account.

The funds were allegedly part of a larger sum of N3,091,441,849 fraudulently obtained from accounts domiciled with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) through unauthorized access and mobile banking fraud. The money was said to have been withdrawn and converted to cash through Point of Sale (POS) agents.

Upon arraignment, Adekola pleaded guilty to the charge.

Further proceedings revealed that the defendant had a prior conviction. On July 23, 2020, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State, had sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment for defrauding a Taiwanese of $22,300.

Prior to his sentence, prosecution counsel, E. S. Okongwu, tendered a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the July 23, 2020 judgment as evidence, with suit no. FHC/IB/32c/2018 which the court admitted as Exhibit 1. The prosecution also sought restitution of N3.5 million to the nominal complainant.

Ex-Convict

In his allocutus, defence counsel, Fabian Nwaforji, pleaded for leniency, stating that the convict was remorseful and had already spent four years and six months in prison, urging the court to temper justice with mercy.

Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi noted that the offence constituted money laundering and emphasized the defendant’s status as a repeat offender.

He, however, acknowledged the defendant’s early guilty plea and willingness to make restitution.

Consequently, the court sentenced Adekola to three years’ imprisonment and ordered him to restitute N3.5 million to FCMB within three months.

EFCC Arrests Serial Fraudster Over Alleged N20m Visa Fraud In Enugu

EFCC arrests serial fraudster over alleged N20m visa fraud in Enugu. He said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Oyewale said the suspect was facing interrogation for allegedly obtaining N19.9 million from three victims under the pretence of assisting them to process visas.

He listed the three petitioners as Osmond Ugwu, Ugwu Chidubem, and Amadiani Chinedu, who alleged that they were defrauded by the suspect.

According to him, Mr Ugwu claimed that he met the suspect in 2018 when he was planning to travel abroad.

“The suspect reportedly presented himself as a visa agent, and lured him with an offer of a Red-cross sponsored visa to the United States of America at the cost of N1.8 million, excluding his flight ticket.

“Ugwu allegedly paid N4 million for the arrangement as well as other payments, which brought the total sum the suspect collected from him to N11.8 million.”

Mr Oyewale also said that the second petitioner, Mr Chidubem, claimed that the suspect conspired with his friend to defraud him of the sum of N5.9 million.

“The suspect assured Chidubem that he will procure genuine documents for him to further pursue his football career abroad.

“The third victim, Chinedu, in his own petition alleged that the suspect defrauded him to the tune of N2.2 million to procure a work permit and an accompanying visa to enable him to migrate to Australia.

EFCC

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the 44-year-old suspect, who is an electrical engineer, was parading himself as a visa processing agent who helps people to migrate abroad easily.

“It was also discovered that he is not a licensed travel agent,” Mr Oyewale said.

He added that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.