Ikemesit Edet, the proprietor of the Uyo Cybercrime Training Centre, also known as Hustle Kingdom, has been found guilty of fraud and has been sentenced to ten years in prison.
Edet was arraigned by the Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges of impersonation, love scam, social media account hacking/editing, and private criminal tutoring.
The EFCC, in a statement released on its official channel, disclosed that Edet pleaded guilty and was handed a ten-year jail term with a possibility of a N2,000,000 fine for each offense.
One of the charges against Edet stated, “In January 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, Ikemesit Edet permitted and managed a premises located at No. 57 D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, to be utilized as a CYBERCRIME ACADEMY, commonly known as Hustle Kingdom (HK). He recruited and trained ten young Nigerians aged between 16-25 in cybercrime techniques such as hacking, impersonation, and Advance Fee Fraud. This action is a violation of Section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and is punishable under Section 3 of the same Act.
Another charge read, “Between May 2020 and December 2023, Ikemesit Edet unlawfully obtained the sum of Fifteen Million Naira (N15,000,000.00) which were proceeds of cybercrime, contravening Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Joshua Abolarin urged the court to convict and impose a sentence in line with the guilt admitted by Edet.
Abolarin also requested the court to order the forfeiture of all confiscated items from Edet at the time of his arrest.
On the other hand, the defense counsel, Francis Ezike, implored the court to consider a lenient sentence for the defendant.
In rendering the verdict, Justice Ojukwu found Edet guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison for each offense, with an alternative of a N2,000,000 fine per count.
Ojukwu further ruled for the forfeiture of confiscated items which include 13 laptops, a gold Toyota Corolla, a Lexus Jeep RX 300, and approximately 3,080.25 square meters of land situated in Ibiaku Obio Ndobo Village, Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to the Federal Government of Nigeria as exhibits.