The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a 14-year prison sentence for Henry Nathaniel Ekanem, a final-year student at the University of Port Harcourt, for internet fraud. On Wednesday, Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt sentenced Ekanem following his guilty plea to seven charges, including obtaining money under false pretenses and impersonation.
According to an EFCC statement on X.com, Ekanem defrauded multiple individuals, including Diana Roskov, by posing as Coran Capshaw, manager of singer Chris Stapleton, through WhatsApp and Instagram. One charge read, “That you, Henry Nathaniel Ekanem…did obtain the sum of Twenty-Two United States of America dollars ($22) from Diana Roskov by falsely representing yourself as Coran Capshaw…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.”
The prosecution presented witnesses and evidence, while Ekanem’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, citing his lack of prior offenses. Justice Mohammed sentenced him to two years on each count, with an option to pay a fine of N200,000 per count, and ordered the forfeiture of his mobile phones as proceeds of crime. Ekanem is also required to file an affidavit of good behavior. His arrest in September by EFCC operatives initiated this case.
