A 21-year-old Higher National Diploma (HND) Mechanical Engineering student of Mashood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Ogun state, Olalekan Oladapo, was on Wednesday sentenced to six-month imprisonment.
Olalekan, arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was found guilty of criminal impersonation and sentenced to six months in prison by Justice Patricia Ajoku of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.
Justice Ajoku commuted the one year punishment proposed for Olalekan’s offence to six months, following his lawyer’s passionate plea to the court that his client had missed two examination sessions owing to the criminal charge filed against him.
Ogunremi pleaded guilty to the one-count amended charge with which he was arraigned consequent upon a plea bargain arrangement between him and the commission.
Arraigning the student, EFCC stated that the offence contravened Section 22(2)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section 22 (2)(iv) of the same Act.
Following his ‘guilty’ plea, the prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, prayed the court to sentence Ogunremi according to the terms contained in the plea bargain agreement he and the defence lawyer, Tunde Lawal, jointly signed.
Though the judge reduced the jail term, she upheld other proposed punishments contained in the agreement, including forfeiture of items recovered during his arrest and investigation, and restitution of sums in foreign currency to his victims.
