A staff member of Access Bank Plc, Abdulmajeed Agboola, has narrated to the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, how the bank’s former employee, Olajide Ogunmoroti, allegedly accessed the bank’s server through a private laptop, resulting in a system glitch on customers account that led to a N5 billion fraud.
Agboola was presented before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as its first prosecution witness in the alleged N5,726,994,110.23 fraud case against the bank’s former employee, Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje.
The court proceedings, which took place before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe, were disclosed in an EFCC statement on Friday.
EFCC Charges
- In EFCC filings, the defendants are prosecuted on an amended 10-count charge bordering on stealing, retention of proceeds of crime, money laundering, obtaining credit by false pretence, and unauthorized access to computer materials.
The charges partly read:
“That you, Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje, sometime in 2023, with dishonest intent, stole and converted for your own use the sum of N2,253,827,379.23, being property of Access Bank Plc., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Sections 280 and punishable under Section 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
“That you, Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje, sometime in 2023, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with dishonest intent, stole and converted for your own use the sum of N3,473,166,731.00 (Three Billion, Four Hundred and Seventy-Three Million, One Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-One Naira), property of Access Bank Plc., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Sections 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
What Transpired in Court
During the court session, led in evidence by the prosecution counsel Abdulhamid L. Tukur, Agboola informed the court that Ogunmoroti was allegedly the ICT representative of the Abakaliki branch of Access Bank.
- According to the witness, there was a glitch in the bank’s server, which was allegedly traced to the Abakaliki branch during investigations.
“There was a fraudulent overdraft limit maintained on our customers’ accounts, which enabled them to make withdrawals from unfunded accounts.
“We observed suspicious overdraft limits maintained on customers’ accounts, which allowed them to access funds and transfer them to accounts maintained in both Access Bank and other banks.
“We identified customers whose accounts benefited from the suspicious overdraft maintenance with total exposure of over N5 billion,” the witness added.
- The witness stated that when the CCTV footage of the bank was checked, it was discovered that the suspicious activity had been wiped out.
- During investigations, everything allegedly pointed to Ogunmoroti, who, according to the witness, allegedly “admitted that he used a private laptop in connection with the bank’s server through which they gained access to the bank’s data.”
- The witness told the court that the use of personal laptops by bank staff was not allowed under the bank’s policy.
- After his testimony, the prosecution counsel applied to tender in evidence the petitions from the bank regarding the system glitch.
The application to tender the evidence was not opposed by the defence counsel.
The document was subsequently admitted into evidence by the court, and the case was adjourned until May 20, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
Related Development
While a final verdict on the instant case is yet to be decided by the Court, a related legal development occurred in 2024 when a Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim freezing order against several accounts in FairMoney Microfinance Bank Ltd, PalmPay Limited, and Opay Digital Services Limited.
- The order mandated these organizations to reverse N139,630,000 credited to some of their customers and account holders as a result of a “system glitch” at TAJ Bank Ltd.
- The order was made following a motion ex parte filed by TAJ Bank Ltd and six of its customers on July 23, 2024, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1018/2024 against the three organizations.
- The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System Plc was listed as the fourth respondent.
A consultant advises that by adopting safer banking habits, strengthening institutional security frameworks, and fostering stronger collaboration among stakeholders, financial institutions can minimize risks while continuing to enjoy the benefits of a secure and efficient digital financial system.
