Justice C. A. Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Benin City, Edo State, has sentenced Goodluck Ejimiyare to five years in prison for recruiting minors into an internet fraud training ring.
Justice Obiozor delivered the ruling after Ejimiyare was arraigned by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of conspiracy to commit cybercrime.
Ejimiyare pleaded guilty to the charge, which stemmed from activities linked to a group described as a “Yahoo school” known as Hustling Kingdom, where young boys were reportedly trained for online fraud.
Court documents showed that Ejimiyare conspired in 2025 with another suspect, Ebuka Eze, still at large, to carry out computer-related fraud in violation of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended).
EFCC told the court that culprit recruited several teenagers into the scheme following an earlier operation by the Nigerian Army’s 4 Brigade Headquarters, which led to the arrest of 17 boys at a suspected training site.
Following his guilty plea, the prosecution asked for sentencing in line with the law. The court imposed a five-year prison term with an option of a ₦1 million fine. It also ordered the forfeiture of his mobile phone and directed him to submit a written undertaking to maintain good behaviour.
The EFCC informed that some of the arrested teenagers identified Ejimiyare during questioning as the person who brought them into the network.
