‘Fraud’: We found multiple credit cards on Naira Marley’s phone, says EFCC

A forensic expert with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has testified in the cyber fraud case against Naira Marley, the singer.

The trial of the music artiste on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, possession of counterfeit cards, and fraud, resumed on Tuesday at the federal high court, Lagos.

Marley — whose real name is Afeez Fashola — was first arraigned by the EFCC on May 20, 2019, on the said charges to which he pleaded not guilty.

At the latest court sitting, an EFCC forensic expert identified as Augustine Anosike, who is the second prosecution witness (PW2), presented the findings of the anti-graft agency’s analysis of Marley’s iPhone.

Anosike also narrated to Nicholas Oweibo, the presiding judge, how multiple credit card numbers were extracted while analysing the contents of a total of 2,410 messages found in the defendant’s mobile phone.

The evidence, labeled exhibit F, was a conclusion of his analysis of the defendant’s iPhone X version 10.6, model A 1901.

He told the court that a total of 977 short message service (SMS) and 1433 chat messages were also discovered.

The witness read out a plethora of credit card numbers and messages sent from the phone on different dates and times, as well as OTP codes sent.

Anosike also listed some of the recipients of the messages to include one Yadd and another Raze.

The prosecution counsel, thereafter, told the court that all the analysed texts were contained in a CD.

He told the court that the prosecution had only printed out those portions it considered material to its case.

Consequently, he asked both the court and Olalekan Ojo (SAN), the defense counsel, if the prosecution could bring a projector to play the CD in the open court or not.

The judge granted his prayer and the matter was adjourned to October 27 for the prosecution to play the CD.