Justice Owoeye sentenced each of the convicts to one year imprisonment with an option of a fine of N1 million.
By Ife Osemedua
365Daily – A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced eight Filipino nationals to one year imprisonment each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
Justice Alexander Owoeye delivered the ruling on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, following their arraignment by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts—Beverlyn Casino, Mae Eribal, Mary Grace Dela Cruz, Jamal Polea, Tricia Castro, Rai Camara, Cherry De Leon, and Danica Jarapan—were each charged with possession of fraudulent documents linked to cybercrimes targeting Nigeria’s economic and social infrastructure.
According to the EFCC, the defendants had procured Nigerian youths to engage in identity theft and impersonation of foreign nationals in a bid to defraud unsuspecting victims online.
One of the charges against Casino reads: “That you, Beverlyn Casino, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilise and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain a financial advantage for yourselves…”
All eight defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.
Following their plea, prosecution counsel N.K. Ukoha urged the court to convict them accordingly.
“My Lord, the defendants having admitted guilt, we pray the court to convict them as charged,” Ukoha said.
Justice Owoeye sentenced each of the convicts to one year imprisonment with an option of a fine of N1 million.
The judge also ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure the repatriation of the convicts to the Philippines within seven days of completing their jail terms. Additionally, all devices recovered from the defendants were ordered forfeited to the Federal Government.
The EFCC said the convicts were among 792 suspects arrested during a massive raid in Victoria Island, Lagos, in December 2024. The operation, according to the Commission, was part of a broader crackdown on cyber-terrorism rings operating within Nigeria.
“The EFCC remains committed to dismantling criminal networks that threaten Nigeria’s digital space and economic stability,” the agency stated.