Details have emerged on how HabariPay Limited, the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), lost about ₦900 million within minutes after scammers exploited a system glitch.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this during an ongoing investigation into the massive fraud.
One of the hackers, Christopher Ofielu, a 39-year-old locomotive train driver with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, was arrested and convicted for his role in the scam.
Presiding over the case, Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, on Monday sentenced Ofielu to one year and six months imprisonment or, alternatively, a ₦1.5 million fine, for stealing ₦6,995,944 belonging to HabariPay Limited.
Ofielu was convicted after pleading guilty to a one-count charge of stealing filed against him by the EFCC.
According to the anti-graft agency, the convict, in October 2023, exploited a system glitch to fraudulently transfer ₦6,995,944 from HabariPay’s account into his Access Bank account (No. 14864072356).
Investigators later discovered that Ofielu had created a HabariPay Squad account specifically to carry out the fraudulent transaction.
A petition from HabariPay Limited, dated September 26, 2023, prompted the EFCC’s probe, which revealed that the system error had enabled unauthorised withdrawals exceeding ₦900 million, of which Ofielu received a portion.
During trial, EFCC witness Adams Adze testified that the transaction, marked “HabariPay Squad,” was credited to Ofielu’s account and began with an initial ₦500 transfer before the full ₦6,995,944 was moved.
He further told the court that the defendant confessed to belonging to a WhatsApp group that coordinated similar illegal transfers.
EFCC prosecutor Abubakar Dambuwa said the offence violated Section 280(1)(b)(f) and was punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During allocutus, defence counsel Mercy Akhabue pleaded for leniency, describing Ofielu as a first-time offender who had shown remorse and begun refunding the stolen funds. She also informed the court that Access Bank had placed a Post-No-Debit order on all of the defendant’s accounts, including his salary account.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Ofielu to one year and six months imprisonment, effective October 20, 2025, or a ₦1.5 million fine in lieu of jail.
He further ordered that ₦6,995,944 be restituted to HabariPay Limited from the defendant’s Access Bank account within seven days, directing the EFCC to verify the restitution process.
The court also ordered the restoration of Ofielu’s Ecobank account and directed that his biometric data be entered into the Lagos State Offenders’ Database.
Justice Oshodi ruled: “You are hereby sentenced to one year and six months imprisonment from today, October 20, 2025, for the offence of stealing.
“You shall make restitution of ₦6,995,944 to HabariPay Limited from your Access Bank account and pay ₦1.5 million at the court registry in lieu of imprisonment, subject to full verification of restitution.”