EFCC secures conviction of two for money laundering, impersonation in Lagos
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction of two men, Agboola Abdullahi Abiodun and Victor Okonjo, for offences bordering on money laundering and fraudulent impersonation.
The EFCC, in a statement on Friday, said the convicts were sentenced by Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, after they pleaded guilty to separate charges.
Abiodun was arraigned on a three-count charge of money laundering, while Okonjo faced a two-count charge involving cybercrime and impersonation.
According to the anti-graft agency, Abiodun was accused of disguising proceeds allegedly derived from a dating scam by acquiring a Black Toyota Venza.
One of the charges against him read, “That you AGBOOLA ABDULLAHI ABIODUN sometime in 2025 in Lagos indirectly disguised part of the origin of your illicit gain accrued from your unlawful act to wit: dating scam, to a Black Toyota Venza.”
Okonjo, on the other hand, was accused of impersonating a United States citizen identified as Aaron Bauer in an alleged attempt to obtain an advantage.
The charge stated that he “fraudulently impersonated one Aaron Bauer, a male citizen from United States of America, by holding yourself out as such, with the intent to gain advantage for yourself.”
The EFCC said both defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them, following which prosecution counsel, F.B. Orilade, reviewed the facts of the cases and asked the court to convict and sentence them.
Justice Ogazi sentenced Abiodun to four years’ imprisonment on count one and one year each on counts two and three.
Okonjo was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, with an option of a N500,000 fine, on count one, and four years’ imprisonment on count two.
The court ordered that the jail terms “shall run concurrently, with effect from the date of their arrest.”
Justice Ogazi also ordered the forfeiture of the convicts’ mobile phones, laptops, a Toyota Venza and a 2020 Mercedes-Benz to the Federal Government.
The judge directed that the assets be sold, with the proceeds returned to the victims. Where the victims cannot be traced, the proceeds are to be paid into the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
