PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
For allegedly hacking Access Bank’s network and stealing N3.5 billion, a Lagos High Court has hauled three men, including a senior manager of the bank, to prison.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the accused before an Ikeja Special Offences Court.
They are Michael Igbomins, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje.
Upon arraignment, the trio pleaded innocence of the offences.
They allegedly committed the offences in Lagos sometime in 2023.
The bank employee plugged an HP Elitebook laptop into his branch network, where he had been working as an IT representative for the bank for about 16 years, according to the EFCC prosecutor.
He granted remote access to his cohorts, enabling them to perpetrate the fraud on the bank’s network.
Additionally, he employed other defendants and transferred the money through them.
Mr. Abdulhamid Tukur, the EFCC counsel, urged the court to set a trial date and remand the defendants in a correctional facility.
The defence counsel, however, told the court that there was no pending application for bail before the court and hoped that the necessary action would have been taken before the next adjourned date.
The prosecution contended that the defendants, with dishonest intent, allegedly stole and converted Access Bank’s N3.5 billion property for their own use.
The EFCC also alleged that the defendants retained the stated amount of money, knowing it was the proceeds from an unlawful act.
According to the anti-graft agency, the offences contravened Section 17 of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).
In her ruling, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe remanded the defendants in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail application.
The commencement of the trial has been fixed for November 28, 2024.
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