The Nigerian Police have filed criminal charges against MTN Nigeria and two of the telecommunications company’s senior managers following allegations of cybercrime raised in a petition by former MTN staff member, Chief Christopher Oyemike, PhD. The case, now before the Federal High Court in Abuja, marks one of the most significant legal challenges faced by the mobile operator in recent years, centring on claims of unlawful access to electronic data, manipulation of email records and interference with a police investigation.
Chief Oyemike, who petitioned the Deputy Inspector-General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Division (FCID), alleged that MTN unlawfully accessed his official company email account, rendering key messages unreadable. He further claimed that the compromised emails included correspondence relating to his financial entitlements as an MTN employee. According to police sources, the petition prompted a joint investigation by the FCID and the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre, both of which found sufficient grounds to recommend prosecution.
Court filings seen by Time Africa indicate that MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, along with two of its employees—Olawale Rasheed Ajibade, Manager in the IT Division at MTN’s Lagos office, and Lilian Binda, Adviser for Organisational Effectiveness at the Abuja regional office—are facing four counts of cybercrime-related offences. The charges include allegations of conspiracy, unauthorised computer data alteration, suppression of digital evidence and illegal modification of email records.
The case, registered as Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/285/2025, is being heard before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The proceedings stem partly from a labour-related arbitration convened by the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, after relations between Oyemike and his former employer broke down.
In his petition, Oyemike also alleged that MTN may have interfered with a separate investigation earlier conducted by the Delta State Police Command in Asaba. That investigation reportedly found merit in his claims, a conclusion he believes the company sought to undermine.
The charge sheet outlines four counts against the defendants. The first accuses them of conspiring, on 6 May 2023, to hinder the functioning of a Dell Latitude 5420 laptop by deleting or suppressing computer data—an offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act. The second count alleges that, on the same date, they intentionally hindered the functioning of the same laptop without lawful authority, contrary to Section 8 of the Act.
Counts three and four relate specifically to the alleged modification of email messages stored either on the laptop or MTN’s internal network, including claims of conspiracy and direct unauthorised alteration of electronic communications. These counts attract penalties under Sections 27(1)(b) and 16(1) respectively.
When the case came up on 3 October 2025, neither the company nor the individual defendants appeared in court, prompting Justice Abdulmalik to adjourn the matter until 27 November. However, when the matter resumed on the adjourned date, the second defendant was again absent, with the prosecution unable to explain his non-production.
A visibly displeased Justice Abdulmalik warned the prosecuting counsel, Joseph Udo, that the court had accommodated multiple adjournments and would not continue to do so. She adjourned the case to 2 February 2026, stating that failure to produce the second defendant at the next sitting would result in the case being struck out.
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