The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has obtained a 14-year prison sentence for Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, a 14-year-old final-year student at the University of Port Harcourt, for internet fraud. The sentencing was delivered by Justice A.T. Mohammed at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday.
According to an EFCC statement on X (formerly Twitter), Ekanem was arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on October 30, 2024, facing seven charges involving obtaining money under false pretenses and impersonation. The EFCC reported that Ekanem defrauded victims, including Diana Roskov, by impersonating Coran Capshaw, the manager of singer Chris Stapleton, through WhatsApp and Instagram.
One of the charges read, “That you, Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, on or about 17th September 2024, at Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of Twenty-Two United States of America dollars ($22) from Diana Roskov by falsely representing yourself as Coran Capshaw, manager of singer Chris Stapleton—a representation you knew to be false—and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act 2006.”
Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, the 14-year-old final-year undergraduate convicted of internet fraud, pleaded guilty when the charges were presented in court. Following his plea, prosecution counsel A. Abubakar brought forth witnesses and documents, which the court admitted as exhibits. Abubakar then urged the court to proceed with a conviction and sentencing.
The defendant’s lawyer, F.T. Fred-Boufini, did not challenge the prosecution’s request but appealed for leniency, highlighting Ekanem’s status as a first-time offender without a prior criminal record. Consequently, Justice Mohammed sentenced Ekanem to two years’ imprisonment for each of the seven counts, with an option of paying a fine of N200,000 per count to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In addition to the sentence, the judge ordered the forfeiture of all mobile phones seized from Ekanem, deeming them proceeds of crime, and mandated that he file an affidavit of good behavior with the court.
