Embattled rapper Azeez Fashola, better known in music circles as Naira Marley may spend the next seven-years behind bars over charges of advance fee fraud known as Yahoo Yahoo in local parlance.
The rapper’s fate now hangs in the balance after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission preferred 11 charges bordering on fraud against the burgeoning rapper for alleged credit card fraud.
If found guilty by the anti-graft agency, the rapper risks a seven-year jail term according to Section 33 (2) of the Nigerian law which states that: “Any person who uses: a counterfeit access device; an unauthorised access device; an access device issued to another person; resulting in a loss or gain commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not more than seven years or a fine of not more than N5,000,000.00 and forfeiture of the advantage or value derived from his act.”
The charges against Naira Marley were contained in a suit with number FHC/L/178C/19 filed before a Lagos State High Court and the alleged crimes leveled against the rapper are in contravention of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the Cyber Crimes Act.
The charges against Naira Marley reads thus in part, “That you, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, aka Naira Marley, and Raze (still at large), on or about the 11th day of December 2018, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired amongst yourselves to use access card 42658840359191132 issued to persons other than you in a bid to obtain gain and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015 and punishable under Section 33(2) of the Same Act.
“That you, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, aka Naira Marley, and Raze (still at large), on or about the 10th day of May 2019, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud possessed counterfeit card 4921819410257431 issued to Timea FedorneTatar and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 33(9) of Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.”
According to the EFCC some of the items recovered from Naira Marley which were presented as exhibits include; some credit cards which bore the names- Nicole Louise Malyon, and Timea Fedorne Tatar.
The arrest and interrogation of Naira Marley follows his open endorsement of cybercrime on social media and a song he did with Zlatan Ibile titled ‘Am I A Yahoo Boy’ which claims Yahoo Yahoo is pay back time for colonial masters for engaging in transatlantic slave trade.
