A Federal High Court in Lagos has set bail at ₦50 million for two individuals accused of defrauding MTN Nigeria of up to ₦1.9 billion through data and airtime fraud.
Justice Akintayo Aluko granted bail after reviewing applications from the defendants’ legal representatives.
The suspects, Timothy Fashina Olubukola, a student at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Ogun State, and Anthony Imonina Odemerho, owner of Benin-City-based Resign Regal Academy, were arraigned by the Police Special Fraud Unit. They face charges for allegedly breaching MTN Nigeria’s Application Programming Interface (API) to commit the fraud.
The fraudulent activities are said to have occurred between January and April 2024 in Lagos and Edo states. The two were charged with conspiracy, unauthorized access to MTN’s API, and unlawful conversion.
The prosecutor noted that these actions violated several sections of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The court has required each defendant to provide two sureties as part of their bail conditions. One surety must be a level 14 civil servant, and the other must own property within the court’s jurisdiction. The civil servant must submit a reference letter, proof of recent promotion, and two passport photographs. The property owner must provide an affidavit and proof of ownership.
Until these conditions are met, the defendants remain in custody with the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS).
For the half-year ending June 30, 2024, MTN Nigeria reported an after-tax loss of ₦519.1 billion for 2023, largely due to net forex losses.
