A Federal High Court in Lagos State has sentenced Olukeye Adeayo Olalekan to 76 years in prison after finding him guilty of offences including child pornography, cyberstalking, money laundering, and fraud.
Justice Alexander Owoeye delivered the verdict on Thursday after convicting Olalekan on all charges.
He was arraigned on 18 counts involving the “distribution and procurement of child pornography”, “cyberstalking”, “retention and concealment of fraudulent funds”, and “obtaining property under false pretences”, as filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Prosecuting counsel Bilkisu Buhari-Bala stated that the offences violated Sections 23(1)(c) and 23(1)(f), punishable under Section 23(1), 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015, as well as Sections relating to “retention of proceeds of fraud” and punishable under relevant parts of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Olalekan had initially entered a not guilty plea on September 6, 2023, before Justice Y.G. Ringim.
The matter was later reassigned and heard afresh before Justice Kehinde Ogundare, and again before Justice Owoeye.
During the trial, the EFCC called five witnesses, including two investigators whose evidence was central to the conviction.
Buhari revealed that the British Columbia Serious Crime Unit had begun investigating the murder of 14-year-old Robin Janjus, who was discovered dead at home.
“Digital forensics on the victim’s phone led authorities to social media accounts operated by the convict.”
“An undercover operation was subsequently launched, revealing that the convict had posed as a female from North Carolina.”
“Through platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, he solicited and obtained property under false pretences, threatened to transmit nude images of minors, and engaged in multiple fraudulent transactions involving gift cards and cryptocurrency,” she added.
Justice Owoeye ruled Olalekan guilty on all charges and sentenced him to a cumulative total of 76 years in prison.
