The Police Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos has arraigned two students – Timothy Fashina Oluwabukola and Anthony Imonina Odemerho – before the Federal High Court sitting in the state for allegedly hacking into MTN Nigeria Communication Plc’s computers and stealing airtime and data valued at N1.9 billion.
Oluwabukola and Odemerho were said to be students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Abeokuta, Ogun State, and Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, Edo State, respectively.
The two were arraigned before Justice Akintayo Aluko, on a four-count charge of conspiracy, unauthorized access into the company’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface (API) and unlawful conversion.
The duo and others said to be at large, were alleged to have committed the offences between January and April this year, in Lagos and Edo states.
The Prosecutor alleged that the defendants conspired and accessed the telco’s Application Programming Interface (API) and obtained data from the said application, which they used to defraud MTN to the tune of N1.9 billion.
These alleged illegal acts of the defendants are said to contravene Section 27(1)(b); 6(2) and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (prohibition, prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as amended in 2024, but punishable under Section 8(2) of the same Act as well as section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022, punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
The two defendants pleaded not guilty to the four counts charge.
Following their not-guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand them in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) till the determination of the charge.
But the defence lawyers informed the court that they had filed their clients’ bail applications and same had been served on the prosecutor.
The prosecutor confirmed being served with the applications while the proceedings were on and accordingly requested a short date to study same and respond accordingly.
Justice Aluko adjourned till August 5, for hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.
Oluwabukola, Anthony Imonina Odemerho and hers at large, between January and April, 2024, in Lagos and Edo States, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, directly and intentionally converted MTN Nigeria Communications Plc property to wit: airtime valued One Billion, Nine Hundred Million Naira (N1, 900, 000, 000) to data which you sold to members of the public and later used the proceeds for your own benefits, which property/airtime, you knew or reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of unlawful act, namely unauthorized access into MIN computer system/network where the property/airtime was stored, and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (prevention and prohibition) Act, 2022 but punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.”
