Obasanjo Library Raid: Four Convicted for Internet Fraud, More Suspects to Face Court Monday

Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced four men who pleaded guilty to charges of internet fraud.

The convicts were among 21 suspects arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, following the arrest of 93 individuals on Saturday, August 9, at a hotel within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library complex in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

One of the convicts, Azeez Olatunji, was arraigned for falsely representing himself as “Camila” on his Google account, with the intent to obtain undue advantage. After a plea for leniency from his counsel, the court sentenced him to one month in prison, with an option of a ₦500,000 fine.

The offences contravened Section 22(2) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition) Act, 2015, and Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006. Further hearing on the case has been scheduled for Monday, August 18.

Meanwhile, the EFCC has clarified that the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library itself was not the target of the raid.

According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the arrests followed credible intelligence that the suspects were hosting a pool party to celebrate alleged proceeds of cybercrime. The party, initially planned to hold in two separate venues, was relocated to the hotel within the Library complex in an attempt to evade detection.

Oyewale said profiling of the arrested individuals revealed that most were implicated in offences bordering on impersonation, identity theft, and internet fraud.