Court Denies Request to Halt N1.9 Billion Fraud Prosecution

Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos dismissed an application filed by two men who sought to halt their prosecution for an alleged N1.9 billion MTN airtime fraud.

The defendants, Timothy Fashina Oluwabukola and Anthony Imonina Odemerho, asked the court to disqualify the prosecutor, Deputy Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Jackson, on the basis that he had retired and therefore lacked the authority to continue the case.

The pair are being prosecuted by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) in Ikoyi, Lagos, for conspiracy, unauthorised access to MTN Nigeria’s computer systems, unlawful manipulation of authorisation codes, and the conversion of airtime worth N1.9 billion. According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly accessed MTN’s Application Programming Interface (API) platform between January and April 2024, obtained airtime without permission, converted it to data, and sold it to the public.

Prosecutor Jackson countered the application, asserting that police authorities are legally empowered to authorise him to continue the prosecution even after retirement. He also maintained that the Attorney‑General of the Federation does not hold exclusive powers over criminal prosecutions.

In his ruling, Justice Kakaki sided with the prosecution, dismissed the defendants’ application, and allowed the trial to proceed.

The court set a new hearing date for September 29, 2026. The defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty to charges related to cybercrime, unauthorised access to computer networks, and money laundering under the Cybercrime Act and the Money Laundering Act.