On Monday, a Federal High Court in Lagos granted bail of ₦50 million each to Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, who are students at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Resign Regal Academy, respectively. The students are accused of hacking into MTN Nigeria Communication’s systems and stealing airtime and data valued at ₦1.9 billion.
Justice Akintayo Aluko approved the bail after considering separate applications from the defendants. In addition to the bail amount, each defendant must provide two sureties. One surety must be a federal or Lagos State civil servant at least at grade level 14, while the other must own property within the court’s jurisdiction. They must present evidence of property ownership and an affidavit of means. The civil servant surety needs to provide a reference letter from their employer and proof of their last promotion. Both defendants are also required to submit two recent passport photographs to the court registrar.
Justice Aluko directed the prosecution to verify all documents submitted by the sureties, including their residential addresses. The court also ordered that the defendants remain in custody at the Correctional Centre until they fulfill their bail conditions.
Oluwabukola and Odemerho were arraigned on July 30, 2024, by the Police Special Fraud Unit. They face charges of conspiracy, unauthorized access to MTN’s web-based platform known as the Application Programming Interface, and unlawful conversion, as per the police.
Police prosecution counsel Justine Enang stated that the alleged offenses occurred between January and April 2024 in Lagos and Edo states, with accomplices still unaccounted for. The defendants are accused of hacking into MTN’s platform to steal airtime and data worth ₦1.9 billion.
These actions are alleged to violate Sections 27(1)(b), 6(2), and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, with punishments outlined in Section 8(2). The charges also breach Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, with penalties under Section 18(3). Both defendants pleaded not guilty. The prosecution requested a trial date and for the defendants to be held in custody until the resolution of the charges, while the defense lawyer indicated that bail applications had been submitted. The prosecutor acknowledged receipt of these applications and requested additional time for review.
