Internet fraudster, 22, gets 18-month jail term for duping American lady

By African Outlook Reporter, Lagos

A 22 year old internet fraudster, Bike John Niye has been sentenced to one and half years imprisonment by a Lagos state high court sitting in Ikeja, for defrauding an American Laura Wallmam of $53,500.

Bike John Niye, a.k.a. Tobi Encore jailed for defrauding his American benefactor

Justice A Akinlade slammed the prison term on Niye having found him guilty of the four count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretense and attempt to obtain money by false pretense, preferred against him by Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The convict reportedly represented himself to Wallmam as a 'moving' company business operator a ‘moving’ company and needed money to get some of his goods out of storage after meeting her at a dating site.

Niye's journey to prison began on May 27, 2010 when officials of Nigeria's Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and a courier outfit intercepted a suspicious looking parcel containing a teddy bear and a blackberry handset sent from the USA to the convict by Wallmam.

The parcel was examined and it was discovered that it contained the sum of $40,000, a blackberry handset, and a white lady's photograph concealed in the teddy bear.

The parcel was to be delivered to an address in Alapere, a suburb of Lagos with the name Tobi Encore and a Nigerian phone number also belonging to the same recipient. With the phone number, the convicted fraudster was traced and upon finding him, he was handed over to the EFCC for further investigations.

On investigation, operatives of the commission discovered that the name Tobi Encore was used by the fraudster to deceive the American in order to defraud her. It was found out that his real name is Bike John Niye. The operatives also discovered that it was Niye who instructed the victim to conceal all the items in a teddy bear. In addition to the one and half year jail term, Niye was ordered to refund the sum of $48,500 as restitution to the victim.