The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced Ikpaka Courage, a philosophy graduate, to two years imprisonment for impersonating Nigerian singer Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour, to defraud an American woman of $53,000.
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s Head of Media & Publicity, confirmed the sentencing in a press statement released on September 4, 2024.
The presiding judge, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu handed down the sentence on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, following Courage’s guilty plea to charges of cybercrime and money laundering.
The case, brought by the Lagos Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), revealed that Courage posed as Flavour on the messaging platform Telegram to trick Mrs. Yvette M. Thompson from the United States into believing that the singer would perform at her birthday party in Washington, D.C., in July 2021.
Prosecuting counsel S.I. Suleiman, presented evidence that Courage forged Flavour’s international passport and created a fake email to communicate with the victim. Mrs. Thompson, deceived by these representations, transferred $53,000 through a Bitcoin wallet Courage had set up.
The EFCC witness, Azibagiri Dan Ekpar, reviewed the facts of the case, stating: “He [Courage] confessed to being involved in a dating scam and admitted to using his platform to impersonate Flavour N’abania. He received the $53,000 under the pretense of performing at the victim’s birthday.” Courage was arrested in Lagos on June 10, 2024, after EFCC operatives traced his illegal activities.
Courage, however, had restituted a portion of the stolen funds by raising a manager’s cheque of N7.9 million. His defense counsel, Bayo A. Phillip, pleaded for leniency, stating, “He is a first-time offender and did not waste the court’s time. He used the proceeds of his crime to further his education, and he is now a graduate of Philosophy.”
Justice Dipeolu, after reviewing the case, sentenced Courage to one year imprisonment on each count, with an option of a N1,000,000 fine for each. The judge also ordered that the funds be returned to the victim, and Courage was remanded to EFCC custody until the fulfillment of the restitution order within 21 days.
The EFCC has continued its crackdown on cybercrime, with this case serving as another example of their efforts to curb internet fraud across Nigeria.
