A Federal High Court in Lagos has granted N50m bail each to Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, two students accused of hacking MTN Nigeria’s computers and stealing airtime and data valued at N1.9bn. Justice Akintayo Aluko issued the bail after considering their bail applications, stipulating that each defendant must provide two sureties. One surety must be a civil servant of grade level 14 or above in federal or Lagos State employment, and the other must be a property owner within the court’s jurisdiction. The sureties are required to provide evidence of ownership, a letter of last promotion for the civil servant, and submit two recent passport photographs to the court registrar. The prosecution must verify all documents submitted.
Oluwabukola, a student at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, and Odemerho, from Resign Regal Academy, were arraigned on July 30, 2024, by the Police Special Fraud Unit on charges of conspiracy, unauthorized access, and unlawful conversion. They are accused of hacking into MTN’s web-based platform and stealing N1.9bn worth of airtime and data between January and April 2024. The defendants pled not guilty to the charges. The prosecution requested their remand pending trial, but the defense filed for bail. Justice Aluko adjourned the case to August 5, 2024, for a hearing on the bail applications, and ordered the defendants’ remand in the Correctional Centre until their bail conditions are met.