The trial of Nigerian musician Azeez Fashola, also known as Naira Marley, has been postponed by a Federal High Court located in Ikoyi, Lagos, due to accusations of online fraud.
The case was postponed by the court to March 6 and 7, 2024, so that the trial may continue.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged Naira Marley on eleven counts pertaining to credit card fraud and conspiracy. He is currently awaiting trial on these counts.
One of the credit card numbers discovered on the singer’s smartphone had been reported by Visa, a platform for card payments, according to an EFCC statement released via X on Friday.
“On Thursday, November 30, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court Ikoyi, Lagos was informed by the 10th prosecution witness (PW10) about how Visa, a card payment platform, had flagged one of the credit card details found on the singer’s device because of fraudulent transactions,” the statement stated.
“As part of the findings from the investigation, forensic analysis revealed that malicious programs that are being used to illegally obtain credit card information, which can be used for card non-present transactions, were found on the device that was recovered from the defendant upon his arrest,” Dein Whyte (PW10), an EFCC investigator, said in testimony led by the prosecution’s counsel.
Malicious software used to hide an internet user’s current location when their devices are connected to the internet was also discovered.
Whyte also revealed that “instruments that are employed to confirm the legitimacy, current status, and precision of credit card details along with the area of the card issuer were found on the defendant’s device.” Through the defendant’s browser history, the analysis also identified the webpage that he had visited on his computer. Among the websites are ones where credit card numbers are exchanged unlawfully.
He went on to say that the defendant’s credentials, name, and email address were registered on both the phone and the laptop that were found on him.
“With respect to the card details recovered from the defendant’s device, investigations revealed that he also exchanged those details with other persons,” Whyte said in response to the prosecution’s question about the findings of his investigation into the credit card details on the defendant’s device.
Whyte was described in the statement as adding, “He further stated that one of the cards was reported to have been fraudulently used for a transaction by Visa.”
He claimed that neither the card details nor the financial institution that provided them belonged to him or were in possession of the defendant’s device.
The statement said, “Whyte told the court that a letter of investigation was submitted to Visa and that it confirmed that the card had been flagged for fraudulent transactions under cross-examination by the defendant’s attorney, Olalekan Ojo, SAN.
But he added that “because the investigation was on the card and not on the device being used for the fraud,” Visa did not connect the defendant’s device to the credit card fraud. Additionally, he emphasized that Visa is not a telecom firm but rather a payment platform.