On Monday, a Federal High Court in Lagos granted N50 million bail to two Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Resign Regal Academy pupils, Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, for allegedly hacking MTN Nigeria Communication computers and stealing N1.9 billion in airtime and data.
Justice Akintayo Aluko granted them bail after hearing two separate bail applications from the defendants.
In addition to the bail amount, Aluko ordered each defendant to submit two sureties, one of whom must be a civil servant in federal or Lagos State employment with a grade level of 14 or higher.
He stated that the second surety must be a landed property owner within the court’s jurisdiction, provide proof of ownership, and swear an affidavit of means.
Civil servants must provide a reference letter from their employer as well as a letter confirming their most recent advancement, whereas defendants must present two recent passport photographs to the court registrar.
Aluko directed the prosecution to verify all documentation supplied by the sureties, including their residential addresses.
The court further ordered that the offenders be sent to the Correctional Centre pending the completion of their bail terms.
The Police Special Fraud Unit arraigned Oluwabukola and Odemerho on July 30, 2024.
They are charged with four charges of conspiracy, unauthorised access to the company’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface, and unlawful conversion, according to police.
Justine Enang, the police prosecution counsel, informed the court that the defendants committed the alleged crimes alongside others who are currently at large.
Enang told the court that Oluwabukola and Odemerho, who are believed to be students at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta, Ogun State, and Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, Edo State, respectively, committed the crimes between January and April 2024 in Lagos and Edo states.
He said that the duo hacked into the MTN web-based infrastructure, known as the Application Programming Interface, and took N1.9 billion in airtime and data.
According to the prosecutor, the acts committed violated Sections 27(1)(b), 6(2), and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, as modified in 2024, but were penalised under Section 8(2) of the same Act.
He also stated that the acts violated Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022, and were punished under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the accusations brought against them.
Following their not-guilty plea, the prosecutor requested a trial date and urged the court to detain them in custody of a correctional facility until the charge was determined.
However, the defence lawyer informed the court that he had filed two petitions for bail, which had been served on the prosecutor.
In response, the prosecutor confirmed receiving the bail applications but informed the court that he was served while the hearings were ongoing.
He requested that the court set a short deadline for him to review and reply to the applications.
As a result, Justice Aluko delayed the case to August 5, 2024, to hear the defendants’ bail applications.