By: Isatou Sarr
The Kanifing Magistrates’ Court Friday convicted and sentenced five Nigerians to pay a fine of D20,000.00 each in default to serve two months imprisonment over cybercrime offences.
Principal Magistrate Anna O. Mendy came up with the fine after the convicts pleaded “guilty” to two counts of unlawful possession of devices and data, and computer-related extortion, fraud, and forgery.
The convicts who first appeared before the court on September 30, 2025, had pleaded guilty to the charges, leading to an adjournment for sentencing.
During the sentencing, Sgt. M. J. Sallah appeared for the Inspector General of Police, while Counsel P. A. Mendy represented the convicts.
In his plea for leniency, Defence Counsel Mendy urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the convicts were first-time offenders who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and did not waste the court’s time. He appealed for the imposition of reasonable fines instead of custodial sentences.
Prosecutor Sallah did not object to the defence’s request but applied under Section 16 of the Immigration Act for the convicts to be deported to Nigeria at their own expense. He also urged the court to order the forfeiture of all items used in the commission of the offences to the state, through the Gambia Police Force, to aid in future operations.
In delivering judgment, Magistrate Mendy stated that she had carefully observed the demeanour of the convicts and found them to be remorseful. She acknowledged that they were all first-time offenders who cooperated with the court.
“The court notes that the process of arresting and prosecuting the convicts has caused economic loss to the state. Cognizant of this, and mindful that the items are to be forfeited to the state and that the convicts will be deported, I hereby sentence each of them to a fine of D10,000 on count one, in default to serve one month in prison, and D10,000 on count two, in default to serve one month in prison. The sentences shall run consecutively,” Magistrate Mendy ruled.
The court further ordered that all items used in the commission of the offences be forfeited to the Office of the Inspector General of Police. These included: ten laptops (three Acers, three Lenovos, one Sony, one RM Education, and one Asus), six smartphones (one iPhone, three Samsungs, two Infinix, and one Vivo Plus), three internet routers (two Africell and one TP-Link), one Dell internal hard drive, nine computer mice, twelve laptop chargers, and seven mobile phone chargers.
The magistrate added that the personal belongings of the convicts not used in committing the offences should be returned to them upon release.
Following their release from custody, the convicts will be detained under the supervision of the Gambia Immigration Department and deported to Nigeria within ten days, either by land or sea, at their own expense.
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By: Isatou Sarr The Kanifing Magistrates’ Court Friday convicted and sentenced five Nigerians to pay a fine of D20,000.00 each…
The post Court Fines Five Nigerians D20,000.00 Each Over Cybercrime Offences appeared first on .
