Ikemesit Edet, the proprietor of the Uyo Cybercrime Training Centre, also known as Hustle Kingdom, has been handed a ten-year prison sentence for fraud.
The Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought Edet before the court on Wednesday, charging him with impersonation, love scam, hacking/editing of social media accounts, and private criminal tutoring.
In a statement released by the EFCC on its official platform, Edet was convicted on Wednesday with an option of a N2,000,000 fine for each count after entering a guilty plea.
The charges against Edet included permitting the use of the premises as a cybercrime academy and recruiting and teaching young Nigerians cybercrime techniques such as hacking, impersonation, and advance fee fraud. These actions contravened section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
The prosecution counsel, Joshua Abolarin, urged the court to convict and sentence Edet accordingly, given his admission of guilt. Abolarin also requested the forfeiture of all exhibits recovered from Edet at the time of his arrest.
In addition to the cybercrime-related charges, Edet was accused of unlawfully taking possession of Fifteen Million Naira (N15,000,000.00) between May 2020 and December 2023, which constituted proceeds of an unlawful act under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022.
Despite pleas for leniency from the defense counsel, Francis Ezike, Justice Ojukwu handed down a verdict, convicting Edet and sentencing him to a five-year jail term on each count, with an option of a N2,000,000 fine for each count.
Furthermore, Justice Ojukwu ordered the forfeiture of all recovered exhibits, including 13 laptops, a gold-colored Toyota Corolla, a Lexus Jeep RX 300, and approximately 3,080.25 square meters of land located at Ibiaku Obio Ndobo Village, Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
This verdict underscores the severity of cybercrime-related offenses and serves as a deterrent to others engaged in similar illegal activities.