Two students, Timothy Oluwabukola of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Anthony Odemerho of Resign Regal Academy, have been arraigned by the Police Special Fraud Unit for allegedly hacking MTN Nigeria Communication Plc’s computers and stealing airtime and data valued at N1.9 billion.
Charges and Offenses
The students are facing four counts related to conspiracy, unauthorised access to MTN’s Application Programming Interface (API), and unlawful conversion.
The charges were filed by police prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
- Period of Offence: Between January and April 2024
- Locations: Lagos and Edo states
Details of the Case
- Offence Description: The defendants, along with others who are currently at large, accessed MTN’s API and obtained data, which they used to defraud the telecom company of N1.9 billion.
- Legal Violations: The alleged acts contravene Sections 27(1)(b), 6(2), and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as amended in 2024, and are punishable under Section 8(2) of the same Act. Additionally, the offences violate Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022, punishable under Section 18(3).
Court Proceedings
- Defendants’ Plea: Oluwabukola and Odemerho pleaded not guilty to the charges.
- Prosecution Request: The prosecutor requested a trial date and the defendants’ remand in custody pending the trial.
- Defence Request: Defense lawyers indicated they had filed bail applications, which were served to the prosecutor during the proceedings.
Next Steps
Justice Akintayo Aluko has adjourned the case to August 5, 2024, for the hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.
This case highlights the ongoing challenges of cybersecurity and the legal implications of cybercrimes in Nigeria.
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