Winner’s Chapel: EFCC arraigned man for cybercrime, hacking church’s online bookstore

The EFCC on Wednesday charged one Chimezie Chuta before a Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged cybercrime.

The accused was charged for allegedly hacking into the online bookstores of the Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel.

Chuta, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The EFCC in the charge marked, FHC/L/441C/17, alleged that the accused committed the offence on March 8, 2016.

The accused was alleged to have altered the online data of Dominion Bookstores platform belonging to Living Faith Church Worldwide and created a counterfeit platform.

The alteration was said to be for purposes of conferring economic benefits on himself.

The EFCC said that the actions of the accused had caused the church to lose its publishing unit.

It said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 14 and 16 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition) Act 2015.

After the plea of the accused, the Prosecutor, Mr Ahmed Yerima, asked the court for a trial date, urging it to remand the accused in prison, pending trial.

The Defence Counsel, Mr A. Osagie, also urged the court to order the remand of the accused in EFCC custody.

He told the court that he was only briefed as counsel on Tuesday, and this had made it impossible for him to file the bail application earlier.

The trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, adjourned the matter until Feb. 26 and 27, 2018, for trial, and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody.

The judge however said that the bail application will be given a date for hearing

The accused was charged for allegedly hacking into the online bookstores of the Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel.