The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.8 stolen from Sterling Bank Plc following a system glitch that befell the financial institution.
Justice Yelim Bogoro delivered the ruling, forfeiting the money to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank Plc, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday.
The judge gave the order following a motion on notice filed by the EFCC through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa.
What They Are Saying
According to the Commission, the forfeited money was “part of the over N2,500,000,000 (Two Billion Five Hundred Million Naira) stolen by some customers of Sterling Bank and transferred for their personal use, as well as to the benefit of third-party beneficiaries, owing to a system glitch experienced by the bank.”
Upon receipt of a petition from the bank on July 18, 2022, the Commission commenced investigations, which led to the identification and tracing of the stolen funds to various accounts, including that of a customer, Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, who was one of the major beneficiaries of the alleged fraud.
- “Investigation further revealed that Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora fraudulently concealed the sum of ₦43,000,000 in the account of his friend, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode (Account No. 1233126860), domiciled in Access Bank, and the sum of ₦122,200,009.00 in the account of his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora (Account No. 0072889319), domiciled in Sterling Bank,” the statement partly reads.
According to the EFCC, the court had, on October 2, 2025, granted an interim forfeiture order for the funds while directing any interested party to show cause why the money should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
- On Monday, counsel to the EFCC, H. U. KofarNaisa, moved the Commission’s motion for final forfeiture.
In the affidavit, an EFCC operative stated that he was among those assigned to investigate the petition received by the Commission on July 18, 2022, from the bank in respect of the alleged monumental fraud.
- “The said fraud and unauthorized transfer of funds were due to a system glitch in the bank, during which over N2,500,000,000.00 (Two Billion Five Hundred Million Naira) was allegedly stolen.
- “That the glitch gave customers of the bank the opportunity, using the PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd banking platform (an e-bank wallet and payment scheme subscribed to by Sterling Bank Plc), to illegally transfer funds even when their Sterling Bank accounts were not funded,” the official alleged.
The official stated that the funds were allegedly fraudulently concealed in account number 1233126860 belonging to Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode, domiciled with Access Bank Plc, and account number 0072889319 belonging to Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc, as highlighted in Schedule A to the application.
- “That the bank was able to salvage the total sum of N81,108,143.8 (Eighty-One Million, One Hundred and Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Forty-Three Naira, Eight Kobo) from the monumental fraud, as highlighted in paragraph 9 above and Schedule A to this application, which is now sought to be finally forfeited.
- “That the bank was also able to salvage a total of N490,349,000 (Four Hundred and Ninety Million, Three Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand Naira) from the bank’s internal ledger,” the official added.
The EFCC lawyer told the court that the Commission had published the interim forfeiture order in The Punch newspaper of February 19, 2026, inviting any interested party to show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
- After listening to the submissions by KofarNaisa, Justice Bogoro held that: “Having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and the same is accordingly granted.”
The judge subsequently ordered the final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
What you should know
System glitches are one of the major challenges bedeviling several Nigerian banks, creating opportunities for fraud.
- Fraud losses among Nigerian banks reached N52.26 billion from over 70,000 transactions in 2024, according to Nairametrics, citing data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
- This represents a 4.5-fold increase from the N11.61 billion lost during the same period in 2023, with most cases arising from electronic channels.
- Fraud targeting institutions is often enabled by insider collusion, while fraud against individuals usually succeeds due to negligence or lack of awareness.
Most fraudsters manipulate individuals into revealing security credentials using social engineering tactics such as scam calls, deceptive messages, malware, and fake websites.
