Nigerian singer Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania, has responded to the sentencing of Courage Ikpaka, who was convicted of impersonating him and defrauding an American woman of $53,000.
On Tuesday, September 3, the Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, sentenced Ikpaka to two years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Prosecution counsel Suleiman Suleiman, alongside EFCC investigator Azibagiri Dan Ekpar, presented evidence against Ikpaka. Ekpar testified that the defendant had posed as Flavour, promising to organize music shows in the United States and receiving payment via Bitcoin wallets. The EFCC was alerted to the fraud through a petition filed by Eyitayo Tolulope Abiodun and others on behalf of the victim, Yvelte M. Thompson.
After reviewing the case and the defendant’s guilty plea, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ikpaka to two years in prison, with an option of a N2 million fine. The court also ordered the forfeiture of N7.9 million, recovered from Ikpaka, to the defrauded American woman.
Reacting to the news on his X handle, Flavour shared a photo of the impersonator and expressed his thoughts on the matter.