Court fixes April 22 for police to arraign 2 over alleged false claim, cybercrime

2026-03-17 - 17:23

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA—The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, fixed April 27 for the arraignment of two persons accused of creating a fraudulent online platform to spread a false scandal against Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia gave the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) approval to arraign the defendants, Adebayo Aliu and Fatuntele Lukmon Tunde, on a seven-count cybercrime charge. It was alleged that they had, sometime in January 2026, conspired, aided, and abetted each other to cyberstalk Moniepoint Microfinance Bank (MFB) by creating a bogus platform where they promised N500,000 to people to fabricate scandalous experiences to dent the credibility of the financial institution. By their actions, the defendants were said to have committed an offence contrary to Section 27(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and punishable under Section 24(1)(b) of the same Act. In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/122/2026, the police further alleged that the defendants impersonated the popular social media influencer Brain Jotter to solicit massive public engagement on the fraudulent platform, where participants were given false monetary promises to write damaging stories about Moniepoint MFB. Although the defendants were initially scheduled to take their plea on Tuesday, they were neither present in court nor represented by counsel when the matter was called.The development led Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia to defer the arraignment. Meanwhile, some of the counts in the charge read: “That you Adebayo Aliu ‘m’ of No. 6 St. Peter Church Street, Egbeda, Lagos and Fatuntele Lukmon Tunde of No. 14 Adeleke Close, Harmony Estate, Ogba, Lagos, sometime in January 2026, in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, created a fraudulent platform to solicit online tumultuous engagement of the public by promising a sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) to unsuspecting victims who would comment with the phrase ‘Moniepoint Scandal’ and share any imaginary scandalous experience regarding Moniepoint MFB, knowing same to be false, for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order and you thereby committed an offence contrary to S. 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended 2024).” “That you Adebayo Aliu ‘m’ of No. 6 St. Peter Church Street, Egbeda, Lagos and Fatuntele Lukmon Tunde of No. 14 Adeleke Close, Harmony Estate, Ogba, Lagos, sometime in January 2026, in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated Brain Jotter, a social media influencer, in order to pervert or defeat the course of justice by creating a fraudulent platform to solicit tumultuous online engagement of the public by promising a sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) to unsuspecting victims who would comment with the phrase ‘Moniepoint Scandal’ and share any imaginary scandalous experience regarding Moniepoint MFB, a platform you knowingly and intentionally created to bully, threaten, or harass the corporate image of Moniepoint MFB and you thereby committed an offence contrary to S. 22(2)(b)(iv) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended 2024).” “That you Adebayo Aliu ‘m’ of No. 6 St. Peter Church Street, Egbeda, Lagos and Fatuntele Lukmon Tunde of No. 14 Adeleke Close, Harmony Estate, Ogba, Lagos, sometime in January 2026, in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired, aided, and abetted each other by electronically creating a fraudulent platform to solicit online tumultuous engagement of the public by promising a sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) to unsuspecting victims who would comment with the phrase ‘Moniepoint Scandal’ and share any imaginary scandalous experience regarding Moniepoint MFB, a platform you knowingly and intentionally created by material misrepresentation of fact upon which reliance Moniepoint MFB was caused to suffer damage and you thereby committed an offence contrary to S. 27(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended 2024) and punishable under S. 14(2) of the same Act.”