The Nigerian Police Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has charged Timothy Fashina Oluwabukola and Anthony Imonina Odemerho with hacking into MTN Nigeria’s computer systems and stealing N1.9 billion worth of airtime and data.
The two students, hailing from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta and Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, were arraigned before Justice Akintayo Aluko.
The charges brought against them include conspiracy, unauthorized access to MTN’s Application Programming Interface (API), and unlawful conversion.
The alleged offenses occurred between January and April 2024 in Lagos and Edo states. Both defendants have entered not guilty pleas.
Prosecution counsel Justine Enang alleged that the defendants accessed MTN’s API and fraudulently exploited the stolen data. These actions are claimed to violate the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The prosecution has requested a trial date and asked for the defendants to be remanded in custody under the Nigerian Correctional Services. The defense has filed applications for bail.
Justice Aluko has set a hearing for the bail applications on August 5.
The charges detail how the defendants allegedly manipulated MTN’s systems and converted the stolen airtime into data.