A Federal High Court in Ikoyi has dismissed an attempt to stop the trial of two men accused of defrauding MTN Nigeria of N1.9 billion in airtime.
Justice Musa Kakaki ruled Thursday against an application by Timothy Fashina Oluwabukola and Anthony Imonina Odemerho to disqualify the police prosecutor from handling the case.
The defendants, an undergraduate at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and a Benin City academy proprietor, are charged with conspiracy, cybercrime, unauthorized access to MTN’s systems, and money laundering under case FHC/L/562c/2024.
The Police Special Fraud Unit alleges they manipulated MTN’s API authorization keys and passwords between January and April 2024 to obtain airtime worth N1.9 billion, convert it to data, sell it to the public, and keep the proceeds.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Jackson, who is prosecuting, argued the police have the legal authority to prosecute the case with or without a fiat from the Attorney-General. Defense lawyers S.O. Raheem and B.C. Alekeh had claimed Jackson lost that authority after retiring.
Justice Kakaki sided with the prosecution, upheld the police’s powers to prosecute, and dismissed the application.
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Both defendants pleaded not guilty and are on bail. The trial will continue on September 29, 2026.
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