Court sentences man to prison for possession of fraudulent documents

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has sentenced Miracle Leleji Tega to one year and two months imprisonment for possessing fraudulent documents.

The sentence followed Tega’s guilty plea to amended charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The EFCC arraigned Tega on a single charge of possessing documents containing false pretences violating Section 320 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.

According to the prosecution, Tega committed the offence in April 2024 in Lagos, where he held a document titled “Google Account Personal info” from his email ([email protected]) under the false identity of “Sofia Enriquez,” an alleged female American citizen.

The prosecution, led by counsel D.I. Oluseyi, informed the court that Tega was apprehended during an EFCC operation in Victory Estate, Ajah, in Lagos. At the time of his arrest, he was found possessing an iPhone 11 and a Tecno Spark 9.

Analysis of the devices, conducted in his presence, revealed documents showing conversations where he fraudulently represented himself as a white woman from the United States to deceive a victim, Cheri Briddle, an American man.

The EFCC claimed that Tega benefitted $100 from his fraudulent activities and noted he had since returned N100,000 of this amount.

The prosecution presented evidence, including Tega’s statement, the fraudulent documents retrieved from his devices, and the seized phones.

Defence counsel Bukola Niniola did not oppose the evidence submission, and the court admitted them as exhibits.

Following the guilty plea, Justice Oshodi pronounced Tega guilty as charged after listening to his plea for leniency. His counsel, noting that Tega was a first-time offender, also requested mercy from the court.

Justice Oshodi sentenced Tega to one year and two months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of the seized devices to the Federal Government.