The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted five Thai nationals for high-level cybercrime, sentencing each to three years imprisonment with an option of a one million naira fine.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment based on a plea bargain agreement reached between the convicts and the Federal Government.
The convicted individuals—Panupong Wanasak, Aatairat See Ni, Laongdao Saeguang, Achalar Saeyang, and Galin Suphaaut—were among 108 foreigners being prosecuted by the Inspector-General of Police for cybercrime, money laundering, and activities considered a threat to national security.
They were re-arraigned on a three-count charge that included cybercrime and illegally remaining in Nigeria without valid documentation. One count stated: ”You Panupong Wanasak, Aatairat See Ni, Laongdao Saeguang, Achalar Saeyang and Galin Suphaaut in last September, entered Nigeria with a business permit of 30 days. You remained in the country on the expiration of that permit and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under the same act.”
The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges when read to them through a Thai interpreter. Prosecutor F.G. Gabriel urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly, noting that both parties had entered a plea bargain and requesting its adoption as the judgment.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite convicted the defendants as charged. “In view of the plea bargain, I am sentencing them to one year in prison on each of the three counts with an option of N1 million fine,” the judge stated. He further ordered that “the convicts are to be deported to their countries upon serving their prison term or paying the fine,” and directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure a seamless deportation process.
The court also ruled that all electronic devices and gadgets used by the convicts to perpetrate the crimes be forfeited to the federal government. The convicts, initially arraigned last year, had pleaded not guilty at that time and were remanded in a correctional centre pending the fulfilment of bail conditions.
Police investigations revealed that the group operated from Plot 1906, Cadastral Zone 807, Katampe District, Abuja, where they ran an unregistered and fraudulent gaming platform. They were specifically accused of “aiding, abetting and conspiring among themselves to commit an offence, to wit: cybercrime, contrary to and punishable under Section 27 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended 2024).” Additional charges included unlawful access to a computer network and input of inauthentic data under Section 13 of the same Act.
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