The Police Special Fraud Unit has arraigned Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Resign Regal Academy, for allegedly hacking into MTN Nigeria Communication Plc’s computers. They are accused of stealing airtime and data worth N1.9 billion.
The students were brought before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, facing charges of conspiracy, unauthorized access to MTN’s web-based platform (known as Application Programming Interface), and unlawful conversion.
Prosecution counsel Justine Enang stated that the defendants, along with others who are still at large, committed the offenses between January and April 2024 in Lagos and Edo states.
Enang explained, “Oluwabukola and Odemerho conspired to access MTN’s API and used the data to defraud the company of N1.9 billion.”
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The alleged offenses violate several sections of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Following their pleas, the prosecutor requested a trial date and asked for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional center until the trial concludes.
However, the defense lawyers noted that they had filed bail applications for their clients, which had been served on the prosecutor. Enang confirmed receipt of the applications but requested more time to review and respond.
Justice Akintayo Aluko adjourned the case to August 5, 2024, for the hearing of the bail applications.