Three employees of Wema Bank Plc have been accused of conniving with four other persons to tamper with accounts of customers in the bank to move about N8.5 billion.
They were last Friday brought before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy and obtaining under false pretence to the tune of N8.5 billion.
The bankers arraigned by the agency were Mr Samuel Ihechukwu, Mr Fabian Chizaram, and Mr Kingsley Kelechi Ejim, while their alleged accomplices are Hanna Okunlola Adesokan, Hamza Zakariya, Achionu Chukwuka Ubaku, and Sunday Osademe.
According to the EFCC, the suspects altered, erased and inputted data held in accounts domicile in Wema Bank’s computer for the purpose stealing from the company.
“That you Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu, Ejim Kingsley Kelechi, Hamza Zakaria, Onyeimachi Fabian, Achionu Chukwuka Ubaka, Adesokan, Hannah Okunlola, Nurudeen Ibrahim (at large). Alhaji Sulaiman (at large) and other persons at large sometime in January 2025, conspired amongst yourselves to cause loss of property to bank accounts domicile in Wema Bank Nigeria Plc in order to confer economic benefit to yourselves, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same act,” one of the charges read.
“That you Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu and other persons at large, sometime in January 2025, within the jurisdiction of this court knowingly and without authority caused the loss of an aggregate sum of N8,568,090,500 property of Wema Bank by altering, erasing and inputting data held in accounts domicile in Wema Bank computer for the purpose of conferring economic benefit on yourself and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same act,” another count read.
After the charges were read to the accused persons, they pleaded not guilty, prompting the prosecution counsel, Aso Larrys Peters, to demand for a trial date and that the defendants be remanded in the Nigerian correctional facility.
Responding, the defence counsel prayed the court to remand his client, Hanna Okunlola, in the EFCC custody because of her ill health. This request was granted.
While adjourning the matter to June 6, 2025, for trial, Justice Osiagor remanded five of the defendants in the facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), while Kingsley Ejim Kelechi was to continue on his existing bail.
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