The Kaduna State High Court has sentenced three persons to prison over offences involving internet fraud carried out on Facebook and TikTok.
The convicts — Aliyu Hassan, Samuel Olamide and Solomon Joseph Christian — were each found guilty of separate one-count charges of impersonation and obtaining money under false pretences.
Details of the convictions were made public on Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in a statement shared on its verified X handle. The commission disclosed that the convictions were secured by its Kaduna Zonal Directorate before Justice A. Isiaka.
The anti-graft agency stated that Hassan, who operated under the alias Ottaviani Loverules Giovanni, posed as a Brazilian national on Facebook on February 9, 2026, and defrauded a victim, identified as Kerry, of N90,000.
Olamide, also known as Johnny, was said to have impersonated a United States citizen on TikTok on the same day and deceived an American, Jackie Sanders, into parting with money.
Similarly, Christian, who used the name Jenort, was reported to have impersonated another individual on Facebook in February 2026 and obtained $150 from his victim.
According to the commission, the offences contravened Section 142(1) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017. It added that the defendants admitted guilt, prompting the prosecution counsel, M.U. Gadaka, to urge the court to hand down appropriate sentences.
Justice Isiaka thereafter sentenced each of the convicts to five years’ imprisonment, with an option of a N300,000 fine.
In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of items recovered from them to the Federal Government.
Hassan forfeited N90,000 and a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 used in perpetrating the crime; Olamide forfeited a Samsung Galaxy S21; while Christian forfeited an iPhone 14 Pro alongside $150 traced to the fraudulent act.
The EFCC further revealed that the trio were arrested in the Agwa/Kudende area of Kaduna following actionable intelligence linking them to online fraud.
The convictions were recorded less than a year after the same court secured similar judgments against five individuals for related offences, as Justices M.J. Zubairu and Amina Bello had earlier convicted Mukaila Kunle Olarinoye, Solomon Peter Dikum, Joseph Wisdom, Bona Jepnum Boniface and David John on charges including criminal breach of trust, cheating and impersonation.