The Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has convicted and sentenced Ikemesit Edet, the owner of a Uyo Cybercrime Training Centre known as Hustle Kingdom (HK).
According to a statement released on Saturday by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Edet was jailed on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, after pleading guilty to two counts of impersonation, love scam, hacking/editing of social media accounts, and private criminal tutoring at his arraignment by the Commission’s Uyo Zonal Command.
Count one reads: โThat you IKEMESIT EDET IK sometime in January 2024 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, being the occupier and a person concerned with the management of the premises situated and lying at No. 57 D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, did knowingly permit the use of the entire aforesaid premises as a CYBERCRIME ACADEMY, also known as Hustle Kingdom (HK) where you recruited ten (10) young Nigerians between ages 16-25 and taught them cybercrime techniques for perpetrating cyber crimes to wit: hacking, impersonation, and obtaining money by false pretense (Advance Fee Fraud) and thereby committed an offense contrary to section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 3 of the same Act.โ
Count two reads: โThat you IKEMESIT EDET IK between May 2020 and December 2023 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court did take possession total sum of Fifteen Million Naira Only (-N=15,000,000.00) which you knew forms proceed of an unlawful act to wit: Cybercrime and thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 18 (2)\d) of the Money laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.โ
Edet pled guilty to both charges, leading prosecution attorney Joshua Abolarin to request that the court convict and punish him appropriately.
Abolarin also asked the court to order the seizure of all exhibits seized from him at the time of detention. However, defense attorney Francis Ezike urged the court to be merciful in punishing the defendant.
After hearing the attorneys’ arguments, Justice Ojukwu convicted Edet and sentenced him to five years in prison on each count, with the option of a N2 million fine on each.
The court further directed that all collected exhibits from the offender be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The exhibits include 13 computers, a gold Toyota Corolla, a Lexus Jeep RX 300, and about 3,080.25 square meters of land located in Ibiaku Obio Ndobo village, Uruan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.
Edet’s trip to jail began on January 22, 2024, when detectives from the EFCC’s Uyo branch acted on intelligence and detained ten suspects at his Cybercrimes Training Centre in D-Line Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.
All of the suspects have been charged, tried, and convicted.
