A Lagos court has sentenced Ikpaka Courage, a graduate of Philosophy, to 2 years in prison for impersonating Nigerian singer Chinedu Okoli alias Flavour and scamming a US citizen, Mrs. Yvelte M. Thompson, out of $53,000.
Courage was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and charged with cybercrimes and money laundering.
Count one reads: “That you, Ikpaka Courage, sometime in April, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, directly made a false statement, wherein you held yourself out as a Nigerian entertainer by name ‘Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania’ on your Telegram account, knowing the same to be false and with intent that the representation is relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of financial instrument to yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.”
Count two reads: “That you, Ikpaka Courage, sometime in April, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, indirectly retained the sum of $53,000 (Fifty-three Thousand USD) in your Access Bank Plc account number 0108866415, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: dishonest conversion of the said sum, property of Mrs Yvette M. Thompson and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under section 18( 3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act,2022.”
He pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted and sentenced to 1 year imprisonment on each count, with an option of fine of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) on each count.
According to the EFCC prosecution counsel, S.I Suleiman, Courage used a fake Telegram account to impersonate Flavour and deceived the US citizen into sending him $53,000. He was arrested on June 10, 2024, and confessed to the crime.
In the account of the witness, Azibagiri Dan Ekpar, an operative of the EFCC, to review the facts of the case, he stated:
“Upon his arrest by operatives of the Lagos Directorate, he volunteered his statement.
“In his statement, he confessed to having been involved in a dating scam, and that he used his platform to impersonate Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania.
“He also confessed to having obtained the sum of $53,000 (Fifty-three Thousand United States Dollar) from one Mrs. Yvette M. Thompson under the pretence that he would perform on her birthday in Washington DC in July 2021.
“The money was transferred through a Bitcoin wallet he created in order to receive the proceeds of crime.”
The witness added: “He also admitted to having forged the Nigerian international passport data page of Mr Chinedu Okoli a.k.a. Flavour N’abania and also created a fictitious email address, which he used to communicate with the victim.
“He had restituted the sum of N7, 900,000 (Seven Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) by raising a manager’s Cheque.”
The prosecution counsel, thereafter, applied to tender, in evidence, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, and bank’s statement, printout of chats between him and the victim as well as the Bitcoin wallet statement from Binance, which were thereafter admitted as exhibits by the court.
Counsel to the defendant, Bayo A. Phillip, prayed the court to “temper justice with mercy”, adding that “he is a first-time offender and he did not waste the time of the court”.
“My Lord, he did not channel the proceeds of his offence into living lavishly; rather, he used it to further his education and is now a graduate of Philosophy,” he stated.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Dehinde I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered that the money be forfeited to the petitioner and remanded the convict in the EFCC custody pending the fulfillment of the order within 21 days.
Graduate Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Impersonating Singer Flavour is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
