The proprietor of the Uyo Cybercrime Training Centre, also known as Hustle Kingdom, Ikemesit Edet, has been sentenced to ten years in jail for fraud.
The Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday, arraigned Edet for impersonation, love scam, hacking/editing of social media accounts, and private criminal tutoring.
According to the EFCC in a statement on its X handle, Edet was jailed on Wednesday with an option of a N2,000,000 fine for each count after pleading guilty.
The charges against the suspect read, “That you IKEMESIT EDET IK sometime in January 2024 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, being the occupier and a person concerned with the management of the premises situated and lying at No. 57 D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, did knowingly permit the use of the entire aforesaid premises as a CYBERCRIME ACADEMY, also known as Hustle Kingdom (HK) where you recruited ten (10) young Nigerians between ages 16-25 and taught them cybercrime techniques for perpetrating cybercrimes to wit: hacking, impersonation, and obtaining money by false pretence (Advance Fee Fraud) and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 3 of the same Act.
“That you IKEMESIT EDET IK between May 2020 and December 2023 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did take possession total sum of Fifteen Million Naira Only (N15,000,000.00) which you knew forms proceed of an unlawful act to wit: Cybercrime and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
The prosecution counsel, Joshua Abolarin, prayed the court to convict and sentence Edet accordingly after pleading guilty to the charges against him.
Abolarin also prayed that the court ordered the forfeiture of all exhibits recovered from him at the point of arrest.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel, Francis Ezike, begged the court to be lenient in sentencing the defendant.
In his judgement, Justice Ojukwu convicted Edet and sentenced him to a five-year jail term on each count, with an option of a fine of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) on each count.
Ojukwu also ordered that all recovered exhibits from the convict which include 13 laptops, a gold-coloured Toyota Corolla, a Lexus Jeep RX 300, and about 3,080.25 square metres of land located at Ibiaku Obio Ndobo Village, Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria exhibits.
