An alleged WhatsApp hacker, Stephen Andrew Ojo, has been remanded at the Ikoyi Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Services by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice Akintayo Aluko remanded Ojo after his arraignment by officers of the Zone 2 Police Command on four counts related to conspiracy, identity theft, and obtaining money by false pretense.
The police prosecutor, Zebedee Arekhandia, informed the court that Ojo and others, on September 12, 2023, in Ajao Estate, Lagos, allegedly hacked Mrs. Laraba Shuaibu’s WhatsApp and impersonated her.
Subsequently, they fraudulently obtained N700,000 from Mrs. Osasu Tina Eriamiatoe using the hacked platform.
The prosecutor cited violations of various sections of laws including the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, the Cybercrime Act of 2015, and the Money Laundering Act of 2022.
Despite Ojo pleading guilty and claiming innocence during the proceedings, Justice Aluko ordered his remand at the Ikoyi Centre until January 24, 2024, pending reassignment of his case file to the substantive judge by the court’s Chief Judge.
