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 10th prosecution witness, or PW10, was Dein Whyte, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC.
He told Judge Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court how Visa, a card payment platform, flagged one of the credit card details found on a 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. The PW10, led in evidence by the prosecution’s attorney, Bilikisu Buhari, stated: “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” Also revealed were malicious tools used to disguise the active location of an internet user when his or her devices are connected to the internet”
Whyte also disclosed that, “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. The analysis further revealed the website that had been accessed on the computer of the defendant through his browser history. The websites include sites where credit card information are illegally traded.”
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 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 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.
