Federal High Court Grants N50m Bail to Students Accused of Hacking MTN for N1.9bn

Two students accused of hacking into MTN Nigeria Communication’s computers and unlawfully obtaining airtime and data worth N1.9 billion have been granted bail.

The students, Timothy Oluwabukola from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Anthony Odemerho from Resign Regal Academy, faced Justice Akintayo Aluko on Monday.

Justice Aluko set the bail amount at N50 million for each defendant, following the review of two separate bail applications.

In addition to the financial stipulation, the judge mandated that the defendants must provide two sureties each. One of these sureties must be a civil servant either at the federal or Lagos State level, holding a position of grade level 14 or higher.

The second surety must be a property owner within the jurisdiction of the court and must provide valid proof of ownership along with an affidavit of means.

The bail conditions further require the civil servant surety to submit a reference letter from their workplace, a letter of their last promotion, and two recent passport photographs of the defendants to the court registrar.

Also, the prosecution must verify all documents provided by the sureties, including their residential addresses.

The students were initially arraigned on July 30, 2024, by the Police Special Fraud Unit. They are facing charges of conspiracy, unauthorized access to MTN’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface, and unlawful conversion.

According to the prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, the alleged offences occurred between January and April 2024, across Lagos and Edo states.

Enang told the court that Oluwabukola and Odemerho, along with others still at large, managed to hack into MTN’s system and steal the airtime and data.

These actions contravene multiple sections of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Following their plea, the prosecution requested a trial date and the remand of the defendants in a correctional facility pending the trial’s outcome.

However, the defense lawyer had already filed bail applications, which were served to the prosecution during the court proceedings.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case to August 5, 2024, for the hearing of the bail applications. Pending the fulfillment of their bail conditions, the defendants remain in custody.

This case highlights the ongoing issues of cybersecurity and fraud within Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, raising significant concerns about the vulnerabilities in the system and the need for enhanced security measures to protect valuable data and resources.