On Thursday, November 30, 2023, at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigerian singer Azeez Fashola, also known as Naira Marley, was on trial. The tenth prosecution witness, or PW10, was Dein Whyte, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He explained to Judge Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court how Visa, a card payment platform, had flagged one of the credit card details found on the singer’s device due to fraudulent transactions.
The EFCC has filed 11 counts against Naira Marley, mostly related to credit card fraud and conspiracy. Marley is currently awaiting trial.
“As part of the findings from the investigation, forensic analysis revealed that malicious programmes 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,” the PW10 stated in testimony, led by the prosecution attorney, Bilikisu Buhari.
“Malicious tools used to conceal an internet user’s active location when their devices are connected to the internet were also revealed.”
“Tools that are used to verify the validity, active state and accuracy of credit card credentials as well as the region of the issuer of that card were discovered on the defendant’s device,” Whyte further said, according to an EFCC statement. 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.
He said that Visa had received a report that one of the cards had been used fraudulently for a transaction.
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.
Olalekan Ojo, SAN, the defendant’s attorney, cross-examined Whyte, telling the court that a letter of investigation had been sent to Visa, confirming that the card had been reported for fraudulent activities.
But he added, “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 emphasised that Visa is not a telecom firm but rather a payment platform.
The case was postponed by Justice Oweibo until March 6 and 7, 2024, in order to continue the trial.
