Two students arraigned for hacking MTN computers

The Police Special Fraud Unit has arraigned students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, and Resign Regal Academy, Timothy  Oluwabukola and Anthony  Odemerho, for allegedly hacking MTN Nigeria Communication Plc’s computers and stealing airtime and data valued at N1.9bn.

Oluwabukola and Odemerho who were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday are facing four counts bordering on conspiracy, unauthorised access into the company’s web-based platform known as Application Programming Interface and unlawful conversion, preferred against them by the police.

The police prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences with others now at large.

Enang told the court that Oluwabukola and Odemerho who are said to be students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta, Ogun State, and Resign Regal Academy in Benin City, Edo State, respectively, committed the offences sometime between January and April 2024, in Lagos and Edo states.

He said the defendants conspired and accessed the telco’s Application Programming Interface and obtained data from the said application, which they used to defraud MTN to the tune of N1.9bn.

According to the prosecutor the offences committed contravened Sections 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.

He added that the offences also contravened Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition) Act, 2022, punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Following their not-guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand them in the custody of a correctional centre till the determination of the charge.

But the defence lawyers informed the court that they had filed their clients’ bail applications and the same had been served on the prosecutor.

The prosecutor confirmed being served with the applications but told the court that he was served while the proceedings were on.

He asked the court for a short date to enable him to study the applications and respond to them accordingly.

Consequently, Justice Akintayo Aluko adjourned the case till August 5, 2024, for hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.