Two Students Who Hacked MTN Computers Granted N100m Bail

Federal High Court, Lagos – August 6, 2024

In a significant development, the Federal High Court in Lagos has granted N50 million bail each to two students, Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho. These young individuals, who hail from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Resign Regal Academy, respectively, allegedly hacked into MTN Nigeria Communication’s computers. Their audacious act involved stealing airtime and data valued at a staggering N1.9 billion.

The duo faces four counts related to their unauthorized access into MTN’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface (API). The charges include conspiracy, unlawful conversion, and unauthorized access. The police prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, revealed that the defendants committed these offenses alongside others who remain at large. The alleged hacking occurred between January and April 2024, spanning both Lagos and Edo states.

Justice Akintayo Aluko, presiding over the case, granted bail to Oluwabukola and Odemerho after hearing their separate bail applications. The conditions include:

Each defendant must provide two sureties. One of them must be a civil servant employed at grade level 14 or above by either the federal or Lagos State government. The second surety must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and provide evidence of ownership.

 The second surety must also swear to an affidavit of means.

The prosecution will verify all documents submitted by the sureties, including their residential addresses. Until the bail conditions are met, the defendants will remain in the Correctional Center.

The charges against Oluwabukola and Odemerho fall under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and the trial is set to proceed. As they await their day in court, the nation watches closely, pondering the implications of this audacious cybercrime.

Disclaimer: This news story is based on factual information available from reliable sources. Any resemblance to other works is purely coincidental.

¹: Punch Newspapers ²: Chronicle.ng ³: Gistmania ⁴: Amiloaded News