The Special Fraud Unit of the police, on Tuesday, arraigned a defendant before the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court over alleged unlawful interception of digital infrastructure.

The defendant, Ayodeji Oyenekan, was charged before Justice A. Aluko on a three-count charge bordering on cybercrime.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, M. Y. Bello, told the court that the defendant committed the offence sometime in February 2022. He alleged that the defendant intentionally and, without authorisation, intercepted a digital infrastructure server hosted by Amazon Web Services, property of Meplaylist Classic Entertainment.

According to the prosecution, the defendant caused Meplaylist Classic Entertainment Ltd a loss of property by altering Amazon Web services, which restricted the rightful owner’s access to its server.

He alleged that the defendant inputed his email address and built a mobility startup called Hellobikee to confer economic benefits to himself.

The defendant was also alleged to have fraudulently used the unique electronic identification feature of Meplaylist through his email to confer economic benefits to himself.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 12(1), 16(1), and 22(2)(a) of the Cybercrime ( Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015. The court granted the defendant bail of N10 million with one surety in like sum.

The court held that the defendant should remain in the correctional facility, pending the court’s perfection of all bail conditions.

He adjourned the case until January 21, 2025, for trial. 

(NAN)