Four young men, including two siblings, were yesterday arraigned before an Iyaganku Magistrates Court in Ibadan over alleged impersonation and cyber fraud.
The accused – Ayodeji Afolabi, 21; his elder brother, Ayomide, 23; Abdulahi Olarenwaju, 20; and 26 year old Samson Abayomi – were said to have posed as white women based in the United States to fleece unsuspecting internet users.
Police prosecutor, Inspector Elisha Tellang, informed the court that the quartet allegedly committed the offence on January 7 at about 9am in the Apete axis of the state capital.
Tellang said the defendants adopted fake identities and foreign telephone numbers on various social media platforms including Facebook, Google, Gmail and TikTok to lure potential victims.
He noted that their actions violated Section 484 of the Oyo State Criminal Code 2000.
All four pleaded not guilty.
Ruling on the bail application, Magistrate Moyosore Atanda admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N200,000 each, with two sureties in like amount.
The court also ordered that one surety per defendant must be a blood relation sharing the same surname.
The matter was adjourned to February 4 for substantive hearing.