News Obiaks News

  Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, has sentenced an undergraduate student of Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University, Malaysia, Hope Aroke, to 24 years imprisonment for his involvement in an internet scam that fetched him 4,000 riaait (about N25,000,000).

Mr. Aroke, 25, was arraigned before Justice Okunnu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, cheque cloning, wire transfer and forgery.

The court found him guilty of the two charges and sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment on each of the two counts.

Aroke was arrested when an anonymous petitioner wrote to the EFCC alleging that the Kogi state-born undergraduate was involved in sundry fraudulent activities on the internet. The EFCC swung into action and investigated the internet dealings of Aroke.
Investigations showed that he was involved in several romance scam that fetched him 4,000 riaait.
Mr. Aroke admitted sending the money to Nigeria through a person identified as Angela, who later helped him deposit its naira equivalent, N25, 000,00, in a bank.
Two exotic cars valued at N23,000,000 were recovered from him.

Justice Okunnu ruled that the sentence should run concurrently.

Meanwhile, Mr. Aroke has two other matters yet undecided before Justice B. Idris of the Federal High Court Lagos.