Court grants N1bn bail to 109 foreigners arrested over ‘cybercrime’

  

 The federal high court in Abuja has granted N1 billion bail to 109 foreigners arrested over alleged cybercrime and money laundering.

On Friday, trial judge Ekerete Akpan granted bail to the defendants with five sureties.

Akpan said the sureties must have landed property worth N200,000 million each.

The judge also ordered the sureties to deposit the original and verified documents of the landed property with the court’s deputy registrar.

The sureties are also expected to submit their international passports to the court.

He ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Keffi correctional centre, Nasarawa state, pending the perfection of their bail conditions.

The case was adjourned to February 27, 2025.

On November 22, the judge remanded the suspects at the Kuje and Suleja correctional centres.

The inspector-general of police had filed a six-count charge against the suspects for also “unlawfully residing in Nigeria”.

The arraignment of the suspects was repeatedly stalled due to the absence of interpreters and legal representation.

On November 3, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said its operatives arrested 130 suspects for “high-level cybercrimes, hacking, and activities threatening national security”.

Muyiwa Adejobi, force spokesperson, said the suspects comprise 113 foreign nationals — 87 males and 26 females — and their 17 Nigerian collaborators — four males and 13 females.