Justice A. T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has sentenced Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, a final-year student at the University of Port Harcourt, to fourteen years in prison for internet fraud. The conviction occurred on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, after Ekanem was arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on seven counts of obtaining money under false pretenses and impersonation.
One charge stated that Ekanem, on or about September 17, 2024, in Choba, Port Harcourt, fraudulently obtained $22 from a victim named Diana Roskov by impersonating Coran Capsha, the manager of singer Chris Stapleton. Ekanem pleaded guilty to the charges when presented in court.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel A. Abubakar provided witnesses and evidence, which the court accepted. The prosecution requested a conviction and sentence for the defendant. Ekanem’s counsel, F. T. Fred-Boufini, did not oppose this but urged the court to show leniency, emphasizing that he was a first-time offender without prior criminal records.
Justice Mohammed sentenced Ekanem to two years on each of the seven counts, totaling fourteen years, or a fine of Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000) payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Additionally, all phones seized from Ekanem were ordered to be forfeited to the government as proceeds of crime, and he must submit an affidavit of good behavior to the court.
Ekanem’s legal troubles began in September 2024 when he was arrested by EFCC operatives in Choba, Port Harcourt, for internet fraud and related offenses. He had successfully defrauded Diana Roskov and others by falsely representing himself as Chris Stapleton’s manager through WhatsApp and Instagram.
