The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered that the 109 foreigners linked to high-level cybercrimes, hacking, and activities threatening national security be remanded in Kuje and Suleja correctional facilities until the next adjourned date.
Justice Ekerete Akpan, the presiding judge made the order on Friday based on the request by the counsel for the defendants on grounds that the police facility where they were being kept wasn’t conducive for the number of suspects.
The suspects’ arraignment was also stalled due to issues of misrepresentation of names of the suspects on the charge sheet and issues of counsel representation.
Counsel to some of the defendants, Ogwu Onoja, told the court that there was need to have interpreters who would be present in court during proceedings for the sake of those who do not understand spoken English.
Counsel to the Brazilian defendants, Eric Oba, also asked the court to separate his clients from other defendants, but the court declined, noting that arraignment had not been done.
After listening to the submission of the lawyers in the suit, the trial judge adjourned the case to November 29, for arraignment.
Before the latest delay, the arraignment was also stalled on the last adjourned date due to the non representation of the suspects in court.
The Court had slated November 11 to take the plea of 109 alleged foreign hackers that attempted to defraud Nigerians.
The defendants, who were identified as citizens of China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Malaysia and Myanmar, are facing a six-count charge that was entered against them by the Nigeria Police Force.
According to police, the defendants were arrested at a building situated at plot 1906, Cadestral Zone 807, Katampe District of Abuja, where they were said to be engaging in cybercrime.
Aside from cybercrime, the defendants were also charged for money laundering and an allegation that they were residing in Nigeria, illegally.
Meanwhile, when the case was called up on Thursday, the defendants had no lawyer to represent them before the court.
The situation compelled trial Justice Ekerete Akpan to adjourn the case to enable them to secure their legal representation.
In the charge before the court, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/599/2024, police, alleged that the defendants conspired among themselves “to commit an offence, to wit; cybercrime and you thereby commited an offence contrary to and punishable under section 27 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).”
They were also alleged to have “knowingly access a computer and network and input, alter, delete of suppress data resulting in inauthentic data with the intention that such inauthentic data will be considered or acted upon as If they were authentic or genuine and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 13 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).”
Police told the court that the 109 defendants, “knowingly and without authority, caused loss of property to persons in Nigeria and outside Nigeria,” when they caused the inputting and suppression of data by deceiving people to believe that an unregistered gambling platforms they were marketing, were authentic.
It alleged that the deceptive action of the defendants was for them to confer economic benefits on themselves, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14 (1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).
More so, the prosecution alleged that the defendants, with intent to defraud, “did promote via electronic Messages on the internet, a fraudulent and unregistered gambling platform, materially misrepresenting facts about the said fraudulent gambling platform upon which reliance, persons in Nigeria and outside Nigeria suffered enormous economic losses and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14 (2) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).”
They were also alleged to have removed from Nigeria, “proceeds generated from operating a fraudulent and unregistered gambling platforms, namely: 9f.com, c2.top, 8pg.top and you thereby commit Money Laundering, contrary to and punishable under section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Likewise, the defendants were accused of entering “the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a business permit of 30 days duration and failed, or neglected to leave the Nigerian territory at the expiration of the said permit and remained in Nigeria without a valid resident permit or appropriate valid visa and you thereby contrary to section 4 (2) and punishable under section 44 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 2015.”
