Tobias Sylvester
A newly wedded man, Azeez Bamidele has been sentenced to six months in prison for Internet fraud by an Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos State.
Justice Mojisola Dada sentenced Bamidele after he had pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of fraudulent documents proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Delivering judgment on Wednesday during the virtual proceeding, the judge said: “The defendant, having pleaded guilty, is convicted as charged.
“He is hereby sentenced to six-month imprisonment, starting from March 18, 2020 when he was first remanded by this court. He is, however, granted an option of a fine of N50,000 in lieu of his prison term.
“The defendant shall, upon his release from custody, do a written undertaking to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the EFCC to be of good behaviour and not to be engaged in any criminal activities within or outside the shores of this country.”
The defence counsel, Babatunde Hamzat, in a plea, had earlier asked the court to temper justice with mercy based on the convict’s status as a newly married man.
Hamzat told the court: “The defendant having pleaded guilty to the charge, I plead with the court to temper justice with mercy; he is a young man who just got married in December previous year.
“He was influenced by peer pressure and having been in custody since March this year, he has shown remorse and he is now penitent. We plead with the court to give him a fine, or if possible, community service,” he added.
In another news, a newly married 17-year-old wife has allegedly stabbed her husband to death as he tried to have ‘first time sex’ with her at their residence in Bauchi.
