A Federal High Court in Lagos has granted N50m bail each to two students, Timothy Oluwabukola and Anthony Odemerho, who allegedly hacked into MTN Nigeria’s computers and stole airtime and data worth N1.9bn.
Justice Akintayo Aluko granted the bail after hearing two separate bail applications filed by the defendants.
The judge ordered the defendants to provide two sureties each, one of whom must be a civil servant in the federal or Lagos State employment, who must be grade level 14 and above.
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The second surety must be a landed property owner within the jurisdiction of the court, provide evidence of ownership, and must swear to an affidavit of means.
The defendants were arraigned on July 30, 2024, by the Police Special Fraud Unit on four counts bordering on conspiracy, unauthorized access into the company’s web-based platform, and unlawful conversion.
The police prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences with others now at large.
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The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, and their lawyer informed the court that they had filed bail applications.
The prosecutor confirmed being served with the bail applications but asked for a short date to respond to them. Consequently, Justice Aluko adjourned the case till August 5, 2024, for a hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.
