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Court Jails Man Three Years for Cybercrime in Lagos

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, convicted and sentenced one Mubarak Suleiman Olasukanmi to three years imprisonment for cybercrime.

He was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on impersonation and cybercrime by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

His travail began following a petition received by the Commission from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in 2023, alleging that he engaged in Business Email Compromise, BEC, and online romance scam.

Investigation by the FBI in February 2021 had revealed an attempt at BEC on the City of Aliso Viejo, California, where an employee received fraudulent emails purporting to be from Tovey/Shultz Construction Inc., a construction company.

The fraudulent email requested that Tovey/Shultz Construction Incorporation’s bank accounts be changed to Anoka Wellness’ bank account at Bank of California.

As a result of the email intersection, City of Aliso Viejo electronically wired $521,518.47 to Anoka Wellness’s bank account as a payment intended for Tovey/Shultz Construction, which was later recovered through the quick action of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, OCSD.

It was further revealed that to achieve this deception, several email addresses were used to obtain the fake domain name used to impersonate Tovey/Shultz and its associate’s email address.

About 26 other email addresses were used to create several apple accounts that were tied to one another through common names, addresses and the phone number belonging to Olasukanmi.

The count reads: “That you. MUBARAK SULAIMAN OLASUKANMI (Male), adult sometime in February, 2021 In Logas State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Jackie Love by holding yourself out as such on your Facebook Application with intent to gain advantage for yourself and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(2Y(5) of the Cybercrimes (Pronibition, Prevention. etc) Act, 2015.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charges preferred against him.

Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa, called on Owolabi Oyarekhua, an investigator with the EFCC, to review the facts.

Oyarekhua told the court that the Commission received a petition from the FBI regarding the activities of the defendant.

He added that “Upon his arrest, one iphone 14 was recovered from the him.

“He volunteered his statement under caution, where he confessed that he was into internet fraud and that he specialized in romance scam.

He also involved in dating scam, where he opened profiles on Facebook, using foreign names and pictures. He wrote in his statement that he sent friend requests to foreigners and made friends with those who accepted his requests. He stated that if anyone fell in love with him, he would then request money from the unsuspecting victim. He explained that he presented himself as a female from Texas, USA, using the name Jackie love. He owns and uses the email addresses: jackmorris2573@gmail.com and mindset996@ gmail.com to chat with his victims on hangout.”

The prosecution counsel, thereafter, sought to tender the defendant’s extrajudicial statement, iPhone 14 and documents print out from his iPhone. They were all admitted and marked as exhibits.

Consequently, Justice Faji convicted and sentenced Olasukanmi to one year imprisonment on count 1, without an option of fine, and two years imprisonment on count 2, without an option of fine.

The sentences are to run concurrently, commencing from the date of his sentencing.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) hosted a roundtable discussion on the theme “Reviewing Petroleum Agreements for the Good of Ghana” at the IEA Dialogue Centre, Accra. The discussion featured a presentation by Mr. Victor Anku-Tsede (Barrister and Solicitor) and brought together key stakeholders including individual experts, relevant institutions, and the media.

The event highlighted that Ghana’s petroleum sector stands at a crossroads, with concerns about legacy petroleum agreements and low government take. It emphasized that reforming these agreements is not a radical proposition but a practical, globally consistent approach to maximising public benefit.

It was a fruitful and engaging discussion that reinforced the IEA’s position that we must "Review the Petroleum Agreements for the Good of Ghana"

#ieaghana #iearoundtable #petroleumpolicy

Nigeria
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced an upward review of its service fees, which will take effect from August 1, 2025.


The announcement was made through the commission’s official social media page on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

According to the CAC, the fee adjustment was necessary due to the current economic conditions, rising operational costs, and input from key stakeholders.

The statement read, “The Commission wishes to inform the General Public, Esteemed Customers, and all Stakeholders that in the continued efforts to improve its service quality and delivery, it has become necessary to review certain service fees effective the 1st day of August 2025.”

The commission explained that the fee changes are part of efforts to deliver better and more digitalised services while maintaining the integrity of Nigeria’s corporate registry.

The revised fee structure will affect services related to companies, business names, limited partnerships, and incorporated trustees.

Key fee changes announced by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) include adjustments across various service categories. For voluntary striking-off, the fee is now ₦50,000 for small companies and ₦100,000 for public companies, up from the previous ₦25,000. Relisting a company will cost ₦50,000 for LTD/GTE and ₦100,000 for public companies. Due diligence through self-service is set at ₦50,000. Requests for extension of time to hold an annual general meeting will now cost ₦100,000 for public companies and ₦50,000 for others.

Historical search reports will range from ₦20,000 to ₦30,000 per request. A restriction of a director’s residential address now attracts a ₦25,000 fee, while obtaining a certified true copy of documents or extracts will cost ₦5,000 per copy.

For limited partnerships, both voluntary striking-off and relisting will cost ₦25,000. A letter of good standing will be ₦10,000, registration and certified copies of documents will be ₦30,000, and a change of name will attract a ₦10,000 fee.

Regarding business names, voluntary striking-off is now ₦10,000, relisting ₦25,000, and an application for cessation ₦10,000. The certified true copy of documents will cost ₦5,000 each, and restriction of a proprietor’s address will also be ₦25,000.

Name reservations remain at ₦1,000, while reserved names with restricted words still cost ₦5,000.

The new fee structure is expected to impact business owners, lawyers, compliance officers, and others who interact with the corporate registry.