Eight Phillipine nationals have been sentenced to a one year jail term by Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, following arraignment on cyber-terrorism and internet fraud charges brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts Beverlyn Casino, Mae Eribal, Mary Grace Dela Cruz, Jamal Polea, Tricia Castro, Rai Camara, Cherry De Leon and Danica Jarapan were convicted and sentenced on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
Summary of Sentencing
They were arraigned on separate charges of possession of fraudulent documents.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Beverlyn Casino 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.”
The defendants all pleaded “guilty” to the charges and Justice Owoeye convicted and sentenced the defendants to one year imprisonment each, with a fine of N1,000,000.00( One Million Naira).
The Judge also ordered the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS, to ensure that the convicts are repatriated to their country of origin within seven days upon completion of their sentences while the devices recovered from the defendants were also ordered forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convicts were arrested by operatives of the EFCC for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud in December 2024 in Victoria Island, Lagos as part of 792 suspects.
