Court hands 76-year jail term to Nigerian for minor internet fraud

DDM News

Lagos, Nigeria – A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced a man, Olukeye Adedayo, to 76 years in prison for crimes related to internet fraud, child pornography, and sextortion.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) reports that the judgment was delivered on Thursday, June 19, 2025, by Justice Alexander Owoeye following a full trial that lasted over a year.

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Adedayo in 2024 on an 18-count charge.

The offences included transmission of child pornography, fraudulent impersonation, cyberstalking, and obtaining property under false pretences amounting to N721,500 (Seven Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira).

According to the EFCC’s statement on its official X handle, Adedayo used several aliases including hrm87, charlotte708, and harlilott_716. He created an Instagram group titled “Expose Janjua Robin Nudes” on February 13, 2023, where he shared child pornography, a violation of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which led to a full trial.

Prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, presented two key witnesses during the proceedings.

They included Wahid Hamidi, a police sergeant with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Saidu Yakubu, an EFCC operative. Several pieces of evidence were also presented to prove the charges.

Justice Owoeye found Adedayo guilty on all 18 counts.

He sentenced him to two years each on counts 1 to 4 for child pornography and cyberstalking, four years each on counts 5 to 14 for disguising the origins of fraud proceeds, and seven years each on counts 15 to 18 for obtaining property under false pretences.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The case underlines the increasing effectiveness of cooperation between Nigerian and international law enforcement in tackling cybercrime and safeguarding online spaces.

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