A final year student of the Department of Survey and
Geo-Informatics Engineering, University of Lagos,
Mr. Lawal Adekunle Nurudeen has been sentenced to 19
years imprisonment for obtaining $27,900.91 from an
Australian woman, Pee Loo Rosalind Summer.
The convict was arraigned before Justice M.O
Obadina of Ikeja High Court on 19-count charges
bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and
forgery. He was found guilty on all the counts and
consequently sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on
each count. The convict was also ordered to pay the
sums of $5,900, N526, 117.15 and any interest
standing to his credit in his savings account with
Sterling Bank Plc Ikorodu Branch, to the victim.
In addition, the convict is
to pay $250 monthly to the victim until the total
sum fraudulently obtained by him is liquidated. His
two plots of land lying and situate at Mowo Kekere
Ikorodu bought from the proceeds of the crime, is to
be sold and the money realized remitted to the
victim. The Honda prelude car recovered by EFCC from
the convict is also to be sold and its proceeds
remitted to the victim.
According to statement by
Femi Babafemi, EFCC's spokesman, the scam began
Sometime in 2007 when the convict who was an
undergraduate of UNILAG met the victim on the
internet and introduced himself as Engineer Benson
Lawson, a Briton working with a multi-national
company in Nigeria. Along the line the victim, a 56-
year old woman from Australia told the convict that
she wanted a husband and all the men she had met
always disappointed her. The convict, who is married
with three children instantly applied and told the
victim that she had met her Mr. Right.
To convince his prey, he told
the woman that he was a 57 -year old widower and
that few years back, his wife and their only child
died in a ghastly motor accident in Lagos. He sent
the picture of a white man to the victim to
foreclose any suspicions. The victim accepted his
proposal and that gave room for the next stage of
the 419 heist.
Few weeks later, he called
the woman to introduce himself as Dr. Saheed Bakare
and informed her that her ‘fiancé,’ Benson Lawson
had an accident and needed money for his treatment.
The love-struck woman sent some money. Two weeks
after the convict called the victim and thanked her
profusely for her kindness. He now told her that he
would like to visit her in Australia so that they
could consummate their relationship. He demanded for
money for air ticket, police and customs clearances
and all sorts.
At the end of the day he
duped the woman to the tuned of $47,000 before his
arrest and arraignment by EFCC. |
