Two students, Timothy Oluwabukola from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Anthony Odemerho from Resign Regal Academy, have been formally charged in the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly orchestrating a hacking operation targeting MTN Nigeria Communication Plc.
The charges, brought by the Police Special Fraud Unit, allege that the students illegally accessed MTN’s web-based platform known as the Application Programming Interface (API), resulting in the theft of airtime and data valued at N1.9 billion.
According to the prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, the offenses were committed between January and April 2024 across locations in Lagos and Edo states. Enang stated that the defendants collaborated with unidentified accomplices, who are currently at large.
The students face multiple charges including conspiracy, unauthorized access to computer systems, and unlawful conversion under sections 27(1)(b), 6(2), and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024. They are also accused of violating section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
During their arraignment, both Oluwabukola and Odemerho pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in a correctional center pending trial. However, defense lawyers informed the court that bail applications had already been filed on behalf of their clients.
Justice Akintayo Aluko scheduled the hearing for the defendants’ bail applications for August 5, 2024. The prosecution requested time to review the bail applications before responding.
