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.

Court Admits More Evidence Against Mamman In Alleged N31b Fraud

Court Admits more Evidence against Mamman. Justice Maryann Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, admitted more documents in evidence against the former Minister for Power, Saleh Mamman in his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for alleged fraud.

Mamman and seven others are being prosecuted by the EFCC on a nine-count charge, bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and intent to defraud to the tune of N31,070,541,349.64 (Thirty-one Billion, Seventy Million, Five Hundred and Forty-one Thousand, Three Hundred and Forty-nine Naira, Sixty-four Kobo).

At Wednesday’s proceedings, the Second Prosecution Witness, PW2, Leadu Kpandei, a female compliance officer with Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, A.O. Mohammed, disclosed that the EFCC, sometime in March 2025, requested the details of account of one of its customers, Fullest Utility Concept Ltd to which the bank responded via a letter attached with the account opening documents, certificate of identification and statement of accounts of the said company, distilled from the bank’s database. She confirmed that she and her colleague signed the documents on behalf of the bank before they were transmitted to the EFCC.

The documents, marked exhibit E1, E2, E3, E4 were tendered and admitted in evidence by the court.

Court

Earlier in the proceedings, the First Prosecution Witness PW1, Umar Abba, a compliance officer of Zenith Bank, concluded his cross-examination, where he revealed he generated the account statements of the defendants also from the bank’s database, endorsed and sent to the EFCC. “I generated the documents of the account statements from the bank’s computer, compared them with what I have, then I signed before sending them to the EFCC” he said.

Suleiman Mohammed, counsel to Mamman drew the attention of the court to a pending application on motion on notice, filed on March 9, 2026 and the judge promised to go through it.

Justice Anineh adjourned the matter till April 16, May 11 and June 4, 2026 for continuation of trial.

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.