Twelve Filipino nationals were on Friday, May 23, 2025, convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment each by Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, for offences bordering on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
The convicts — Anjeanette Topacio, Gladys Joy Mag-Iba, Jean Calago, Shairah Mae Reyes, Roseann Gonzales, Lari Jane Tayag, Mary Grace De La Cruz, Krystel Aquilesca, Jonilyn Agulto, Paizza Camara, Vivian Pionella and Jonalyn Mendoza — were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on separate charges of possession of fraudulent documents.
One of the charges against Anjeanette Topacio read, “That you, Anjeanette Topacio, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain a financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Another charge read, “That you, Shairah May Reyes, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, had in your possession a document containing false pretense, printed from your Telegram, wherein you posed to be a lady, living in the UK, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 6 (8c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”
All the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.
Following their guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, N.K. Ukoha and H.U. Kofarnaisa, urged the court to convict the defendants in line with the plea bargain agreements they had entered into with the Commission.
Justice Bogoro subsequently convicted and sentenced the defendants to one year imprisonment each and imposed a fine of N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira) on each convict.
In addition, the judge directed the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs. Kemi Nanna Nandap, to ensure that the convicts are repatriated to the Philippines within seven days of completing their jail terms.
All devices recovered from the convicts were ordered forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
