By Abimbola Ogunnaike
A Kaduna court presided over by Justice A. A. Isiaka, has sentenced a popular TikTok music celebrity, Crown Uzama, and five others to jail on a separate one-count charge bordering on criminal impersonation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna Zonal Command, arraigned the six before the court, saying their offence was contrary to Sections 142 (1), 57 and 308 of the Kaduna Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under Section 309 of the same Law.
Uzama, who is also known as Shalli Popi and Miller Maxwell, was convicted alongside with Joel Kator, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman Temidayo, Favour Chidiogo Emmanuel, John Joseph, and Bethel Makuochukwu. Makuochukwu had two weeks earlier been convicted for money laundering.
They both pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against them by the EFCC.
Consequently, the prosecuting counsel, M. E. Eimonye, M. U. Gadaka, M. Arumeni and K.S Ogunlade urged the court to convict them accordingly.
Justice Isiaka convicted and sentenced the defendants to two years imprisonment each with the option of fines.
The court also held that the convicts are to forfeit all electronic gadgets, furniture and other items recovered from them, to the Federal Government.
The defendants were arrested at various locations in Kaduna upon intelligence received by the Command.
Investigations had revealed that they had impersonated foreign nationals and used false identities to defraud their victims.
