How access bank staff stole N5.7 billion – witness

DDM News

A high-profile financial crime involving Access Bank Plc has come to light following revelations in court by a prosecution witness.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) has learned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its first witness before the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

The witness, Abdulmajeed Agboola, is an employee of Access Bank.

He testified that a former bank staff member, Olajide Ogunmoroti, was at the center of a N5.7 billion fraud.

According to Agboola, Ogunmoroti was formerly the ICT representative at Access Bank’s Abakaliki branch.

He allegedly used a private laptop to infiltrate the bank’s server.

This unauthorized access created a system error that generated fraudulent overdraft limits on certain customer accounts.

These overdraft limits allowed individuals to withdraw large sums from accounts that had no funds.

The witness explained that the fraud enabled transfers of money to various accounts within Access Bank and other Nigerian banks.

Agboola said the bank identified suspicious overdraft activities during internal investigations.

The cumulative exposure from the manipulated accounts exceeded N5 billion.

According to the EFCC, the fraud was not carried out by Ogunmoroti alone.

Three other individuals, Moses Iruolaje, Michael Igbomina, and David Onyeike, have also been charged in connection with the case.

The four accused persons face a 10-count amended charge.

The charges include stealing, money laundering, retention of proceeds of crime, obtaining credit by false pretence, and unauthorized access to computer materials.

One of the charges accuses the defendants of stealing N2.25 billion in 2023.

Another count alleges that they dishonestly converted N3.47 billion for personal use.

These charges fall under Sections 280 and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The EFCC stated that the fraudulent activities caused severe disruptions in Access Bank’s system.

During his testimony, Agboola noted that a technical glitch was first detected by the bank’s monitoring systems.

The issue was traced back to the Abakaliki branch.

Further scrutiny revealed that key surveillance footage from the branch had been deleted.

The deletion of the CCTV footage raised suspicions of an internal cover-up.

Agboola testified that Ogunmoroti admitted to using a personal laptop to access the server.

He said this action violated Access Bank’s internal policies.

Bank staff are not permitted to use personal devices to connect to official systems.

Following Agboola’s testimony, the EFCC counsel, Abdulhamid L. Tukur, tendered key documents in court.

These documents were petitions written by Access Bank about the system breach.

The defence counsel did not oppose the move to tender the documents.

The court, presided over by Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe, accepted them as evidence.

The judge adjourned the case until May 20, 2025, for continuation of trial.

This case has sparked fresh concerns about insider threats in Nigerian banks.

Despite sophisticated cybersecurity measures, internal breaches remain a serious risk.

The EFCC has pledged to fully investigate and prosecute the case.

Sources indicate that Access Bank is cooperating with law enforcement.

The bank is also said to be conducting an internal review of its information technology protocols.

This high-value fraud has drawn significant attention across the country.

Public trust in the banking sector is once again under scrutiny.

Financial analysts have called for stricter regulations on employee access to sensitive systems.

The Nigerian banking sector has seen multiple insider fraud cases in recent years.

This incident underscores the urgent need for internal reforms.

It also highlights the need for real-time surveillance and data protection in financial institutions.

As the trial continues, many Nigerians await justice and greater transparency from banks and regulators alike.

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