Rukayat Adedamola Adewale, an Instagram influencer also known as Ade Herself, made the news on Friday after she told corps members to shun cybercrimes.

In an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) post on X, Adewale charged the corps members during a sensitisation programme the commission organised in Lagos State on Thursday.

The EFCC, Nigeria’s leading anti-graft agency, described Adewale as “a strategic stakeholder in the anti-graft war” in its post.

Anti-graft War: Ade Herself Charges Corps Members To Shun Cybercrimes

A social media influencer and actress, Adedamola Adewale, also known as Ade Herself, has called on members of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, and other youths across the country to shun any… pic.twitter.com/u29vgPIyJJ

— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) September 1, 2023

This post has stirred a controversy since it made it online, leaving many Nigerians baffled by the EFCC’s decision to partner with Adewale who was once arrested and arraigned for her involvement in internet fraud.

For many Nigerians, it was unbecoming and hypocritical for an agency like the EFCC to use an individual with connections to cybercrimes to deliver messages about the risks associated with such illegal activities.

READ ALSO: Ibori, Iyamu, Ekweremadu… Nigerian Politicians Jailed Abroad

ADE HERSELF ARRESTED IN 2020 FOR INTERNET FRAUD

FIJ confirmed that the EFCC indeed arrested Adeherself alongside four other people in 2020 because they were reportedly involved in internet-related fraud.

In a post on its Twitter page in June 2020, the EFCC wrote, “During interrogation, Adewale, a self-acclaimed model, who goes by the username @adeherself on Instagram, confessed to being a “picker” in cyber crimes”.

EFCC Arrests Social Media Influencer, Four Others for Internet Fraud

The EFCC Lagos Zonal Office, has arrested five alleged internet fraudsters, including one Adedamola Adewale, a self-acclaimed social media influencer, for their alleged involvement in internet-related fraud.
1/ pic.twitter.com/6yNpqmgiZy

— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) June 16, 2020

The EFCC arraigned Adewale at the Special Offence Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on a one-count charge of possession of fraudulent documents on July 7, 2020, and she went on trial afterwards.

In October of the same year, Adewale was prosecuted and charged with three counts related to conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, attempt to obtain by false pretence and retention of proceeds of a criminal conduct.

When she was re-arraigned on February 8, 2023, the EFCC claimed that she kept N7.9 million in proceeds from cybercrime in her bank account.

One of the counts against her also revealed that she and two others with fraudulent intentions conspired to obtain $6,000 from one Joseph Rumoro.

The case was adjourned till April. However, at the time of this report, there was no information or update available on the EFCC’s website or Twitter page regarding Adewale’s trial.

There is also no report to show that the self-proclaimed Instagram influencer had been acquitted of the criminal charges against her.