A Lagos court has ordered the deportation of four Filipino nationals convicted of cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
According to a Friday statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, delivered the ruling.
The EFCC also confirmed that its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 secured the conviction and sentencing of seven Nigerians for similar offences.
The Filipino convicts, identified as Reyna Mae Eriba, Chyna Samonte, Zara Fabian, and Dominique Medina, are to be deported to their home country within seven days of completing their sentences, as directed by the judge to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
The convicted Nigerians include Chidera Ezechukwu, Favour Oluchukwu, Egwenum Ifeanyi, David Okezie, Gbenga Shittu Solomon, Ibraheem Olamilekan, and Oghomienor Jotham, all prosecuted on separate charges related to cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
Samonte charges read: “That you, Chynna Samonte, 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 financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Ete) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
That of Ezechukwu read: “That you, Chidera Ezechukwu, sometime in May 2025 at Lagos, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, did retain the sum of N12,750,318.63 (Twelve Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Million, million, Sixty-three Kobo) in your UBA account with account number 2330149541, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful act to wit: engaging in an online dating scam and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 as amended and punishable under Section 14(2) of the same Act.”
The EFCC disclosed that the convicts pleaded “guilty” to the charges when arraigned. Following their pleas, prosecution counsel Anita Imo, S.I. Suleiman, H.U. Kofarnaisa, and B.M. Isah urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly while ordering the forfeiture of all recovered items to the federal government.
Justice Yellim Bogoro sentenced Reyna Mae Eriba, Chyna Samonte, Zara Fabian, and Dominique Medina to one year in prison each or an alternative fine of ₦1 million.
Gbenga Shittu Solomon received a sentence of one year in prison or a fine of ₦700,000, while Chidera Ezechukwu, Favour Oluchukwu, Egwenum Ifeanyi, David Okezie, Ibraheem Olamilekan, and Oghomienor Jotham were each sentenced to one year in prison or a fine of ₦500,000.
Additionally, Justice Bogoro ordered that all items recovered from the convicts, including cars, communication devices, and money, be forfeited to the federal government.