Yahoo Boys jailed three years, forfeit N206m, cars, houses to Fed Govt

An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced two men, Tobiloba Ibrahim Bakare and Alimi Seun Sikiru, to three years imprisonment each, for hacking the emails of British Airways, Turkish Airways and KLM, and stealing no fewer than $750,000 and N120million.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, who convicted the duo, also ordered the forfeited of their N204,041,216.82 cash to the federal government alongside their luxury cars and houses in highbrow parts of Lagos.

The other properties forfeited are a Mercedes Benz E500, a Toyota Hilux 2020 model; a five-bedroom duplex at Ibrahim Beto Street, Osapa London, Lekki, Lagos; a four-bedroom semi-detached duplex at Ologolo Jakande, Lekki, and a four-bedroom semi-detached duplex in Southern View Estate, Mayor Court, Chevron Alternative Road, Lekki, Lagos.
Justice Taiwo sentenced Bakare and Sikiru on Monday, following their guilty plea to six counts of conspiracy and retaining of the stolen items, and the plea bargain agreement they entered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC.
EFCC counsel, Idris Mohammed, had told the judge that the offences contravened sections 411 and 328(1)and were punishable under Section 328 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

In reaching a decision on their guilt, the judge also considered the facts of the case as reviewed by the Commission.
Mr Idris told the court that the EFCC received credible intelligence of an alleged case of suspicious transaction and Money Laundering reported on September 2, 2020, following which its Advance Fee Fraud Section began Investigation.
The investigation led to a computer fraudster, Kehinde Adelakun and his firm, Alvine International Resources Ventures. Adelakun was convicted last October.

Idris said: “While investigating and prosecuting one Kehinde Adelakun (now a convict), the second defendant (Sikiru) featured. And that the second defendant owns Alvine First Resources Ventures which he uses in his Real Estate Business, and that the second defendant operates two corporate Accounts with First Bank and Sterling Bank Plc.

“Upon analysis of the two accounts belonging to the second defendant, several inflows were discovered from different companies between March to July 2020 reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. And that further analysis of the Accounts shows that there is a balance of N196, 741, 261.82 million and N9.3 million were retained in the Sterling Bank and Polaris Bank of the second defendant reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

“The second defendant when confronted admitted that majority of the funds received in his accounts were from the first defendant and that first defendant when confronted, admitted that he was into Business Email Compromise fraud between 2009 and 2020. That he has hacked into the emails of KLM, Turkish Airways and British Airways. And that in the cause of perpetrating the said fraud, he benefitted the total sum of about $750,000, while the second defendant also benefitted the sum of N120 million, through his conspirator, Dayo Bamgbose, who resides in Texas, the United States of America with phone number +12098564245 but is now deceased”.

The court heard that Bakare spent his loot on acquiring most of the properties now forfeited, and retained N196,741,216.82 in Sikiru ’s company’s Account. Sikiru also retained N9.3million of the loot in his bank account with Polaris Bank.