The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of N1,292,798,746.81 fraudulently withdrawn from Sterling Bank Plc following a system glitch.
Justice D.I. Dipeolu gave the ruling in favour of the Federal Government, acting on behalf of the affected financial institution.
According to a statement issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Saturday, the funds were illegally accessed and siphoned by several individuals who exploited the technical failure in the bank’s system.
EFCC Investigation and Prosecution
- According to the Commission, upon receipt of a petition from the bank alleging a N2.5bn theft, the investigation led to the identification and tracing of the stolen funds to various accounts.
“The sums sought to be forfeited were domiciled in M Sharif Inter-Trading and Marketing Company Ltd.’s UBA account (N900,000,000); Mustapha Abubakar’s UBA account (N255,872,842.84); Mustapha Sharif Abubakar’s UBA account (N12,195,093); Mustapha Sharif Abubakar’s Jaiz Bank (N41,119,917.13); Abubakar Mustapha Sharif’s First Bank account (N19,069,567.73); and Mustapha Sharif Abubakar’s Sterling Imal (the alternative bank account) (N30,850,158.12),” the statement partly reads.
What Transpired in Court
- The court had, on March 12, 2025, granted an interim forfeiture order of the funds and also directed the publication of the same in a national daily for any interested party to show cause why the money should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
- A motion on notice dated January 8, 2025, and filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa, was subsequently moved in court.
- Moving the motion for the final forfeiture order, the EFCC legal team told the court that the money was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and deserved to be forfeited permanently.
- The EFCC also informed the court that the Commission had published the interim forfeiture order in The Punch newspaper of March 24, 2025, for any interested party to show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
- Justice Dipeolu, after listening to the submissions by the EFCC, held that “having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and same is accordingly granted.”
- Consequently, the judge ordered the final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
Related Development
A related development occurred in 2024 when a Federal High Court, Abuja, granted an interim freezing order against several accounts in FairMoney Microfinance Bank Ltd, PalmPay Limited, and Opay Digital Services Limited, mandating the 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.
