The Police Special Fraud Unit on Thursday arraigned 10 men, who allegedly hacked into and fraudulently moved about N150m from the bank accounts of various bank customers in Lagos and Oyo states.
The alleged hackers were arraigned on three counts before Justice Chuka Obiozor at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
They are 49-year-old Ismaeel Salami; Akinola Oghuan, 34; Sarumi Abubakar, 32; Salako Idowu Abdulsalam, 30; and Chukwumnonso Ifeanyi, 30.
Others are Okpetu John, 29; James Idagu, 56; Oyelade Shola Isaac, 32; Osuolale Hammid, 40; and Akeem Adesina, 40.
The police, in the charge sheet marked FHC/L/248c/17, said the defendants conspired among themselves to hack into various bank customers’ accounts and moved their funds without being given the authority to do so.
The accused persons, according to the police, blocked the victims’ GSM numbers to ensure that they did not receive SMS alerts from their banks, notifying them of the illegal transactions.
They were said to have committed the crime in March this year.
The prosecuting counsel for the police, Mr. Azubike Sylvester, told Justice Obiozor that the defendants acted contrary to sections 8(a)(B)(c), 7(1)(a)(b)(I)(ii) and 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and are liable to be punished under Section 7(2)(B) of the same Act.
But when the charges were read to the 10 defendants, they pleaded not guilty.
The judge adjourned till July 28, 2017 to hear their bail applications.
He ordered that they should be remanded in the prison custody.