A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday granted N50 million bail to two alleged fraudsters, who were said to have defrauded MTN Nigeria Communication of the sum of N1.9 billion.
The trial judge, Justice Akintayo Aluko granted them bail after hearing two separate bail applications filed by the defendants.
Justice Aluko also ordered the defendants to provide two sureties each one of the sureties must be a civil servant either in the federal or Lagos State employment, who must be grade level 14 and above, while the second surety, must be a landed property owner within the jurisdiction of the court, must provide evidence of ownership, and must swear to an affidavit of means.
In the case of the civil servant, he/she must produce reference letter of his place of work, and letter of last promotion, while the defendants must submit two recent passport photographs to the registrar of the court.
Justice Aluko ordered that the prosecution should verify all documents submitted by the sureties including their residential addresses.
The court further ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of prison pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions
Recalled that men of the Police Special Fraud Unit, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, had last week arraigned the duo of Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, said to be a student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, MAPOLY, Abeokuta, Ogun State, and proprietor of Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, Edo State respectively for allegedly hacking into MTN web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface (API) stole N1.9billiob worth of airtime and data.
The defendants were arraigned on a four count-charge of conspiracy, unauthorized access into the company’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface (API) and unlawful conversion.
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The two men and others said to be at large, were alleged to have committed the offences between January and April this year, in Lagos and Edo States.
The prosecutor, Justine Enang said the defendants and others at large, conspired among themselves and accessed into telecom’s Application Programming Interface (API) and obtained data from the said application, which they used to defraud the company (MTN) to the tune of N1.9 billion.
He also submitted that the alleged illegal acts of the defendants, contravened Section 27(1)(b); 6(2) and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (prohibition, prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as amended in 2024, but punishable under Section 8(2) of the same Act.
However, the two defendants pleaded not guilty to the four counts charge.
Following their not guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date, and urged the court to remand them in prison custody till the determination of the charge.
But, the defence lawyer informed the court that he has filed two applications for bail and same have been served on the prosecutor.
In response, the prosecutor confirmed being served with the bail applications, but told the court that he was served while the proceedings was on.
Charges against the defendants are; “That you, Timothy Oluwabukola, Anthony Odemerho and others at large, between January and April, 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired amongst yourselves to intentionally and without authorization, gained access into MTN Nigeria Communications Plc computer system/network, with intent to obtain data from the said computer system/network, which you subsequently used to defraud the company (MTN) to the tune of N1.9billion and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 27(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (prohibition, prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as amended in 2024, but punishable under Section 8(2) of the same Act.
