Court Rejects Bid to Stop N1.9bn Fraud Prosecution

Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos, has dismissed an application filed by two men seeking to stop their prosecution over an alleged N1.9 billion MTN airtime fraud.

 The Defendants, Timothy Fashina Oluwabukola and Anthony Imonina Odemerho, had asked the court to disqualify the Prosecutor, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Jackson, arguing that he had retired from service and no longer had the authority to continue 

The two men are being prosecuted by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, over allegations of conspiracy, unauthorised access to MTN Nigeria’s computer systems, unlawful manipulation of authorisation codes, and conversion of airtime valued at N1.9 billion. According to the prosecution, the Defendants allegedly gained illegal access to MTN’s Application Programming Interface (API) platform between January and April 2024, obtained airtime without authorisation, converted it to data and sold it to members of the public. 

The Prosecutor, however, opposed the application, insisting that the Police authorities were legally empowered to authorise him to continue the prosecution even after retirement. He also argued that the Attorney-General of the Federation does not have exclusive powers over criminal prosecutions.

 In his ruling, Justice Kakaki upheld the arguments of the prosecution, and dismissed the Defendants’ application, clearing the way for the continuation of the trial.

 The court subsequently adjourned the matter to September 29, 2026, for continuation of hearing. The Defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty to charges bordering on cybercrime, unauthorised access to computer networks and money laundering under the Cybercrime Act and the Money Laundering Act.