Justice P. I. Ajoku of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced two individuals, Glory Okwor Ebube and Harrison Uzorchukwu Emmanuel, to jail for Internet fraud.
Ebube was found guilty of posing as American celebrity Kim Kardashian on Telegram to defraud victims of $2,000.According to the charge, Ebube committed the offence in February 2024, contravening Section 1(2)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006. Ebube pleaded guilty to the charge, leading to conviction and sentencing to 30 months in prison or a fine of N200,000.
Emmanuel was convicted of defrauding a victim, Deborah Teaque, of $1,000 in March 2025, using a fictitious bitcoin investment scheme. His actions contravened Section 1(1)(c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006. Like Ebube, Emmanuel also pleaded guilty and received a similar sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000.
In addition to the sentences or fines, both convicts were subject to further penalties. A Toyota Camry car, an iPhone 15 Pro, and an iPhone 16 recovered from them at the scene of arrest were forfeited to the federal government. They also deposed to an affidavit of good behaviour before the court.
The convicts’ journey to jail began with their arrest in Port Harcourt in April 2025, following credible intelligence that exposed their fraudulent internet activities.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate prosecuted the case, highlighting the commission’s efforts to combat cybercrime and protect citizens from financial fraud.
The charge continues: “That you, Harrison Emmanuel Uzorchukwu, sometime in March 2025 at Port Harcourt, Rivers State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $1,000 from Deborah Teaque under the pretence that the sum was for investment in bitcoin, which pretence you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Both convicts pleaded “guilty” when the charges were read to them, following which prosecution counsel N. A. Dodo and M. Abubakar tendered incriminating documents in evidence against them and asked the court to convict and sentence them in line with their pleas, while defence counsel G. M. Chukwu and Dozie Munakwe prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that their clients were first-time offenders.
