Lagos, Nigeria – The Federal High Court in Ikoyi has ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.8 ($54,000 USD) stolen from Sterling Bank Plc following a system glitch.
Justice Yelim Bogoro delivered the ruling, forfeiting the money to the Federal Government in favour of the bank, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday.
Okay News reports that the judge gave the order following a motion filed by the anti-graft agency through its counsel, Hannatu KofarNaisa. The forfeited money was part of over N2.5 billion stolen by some customers who exploited a system glitch to transfer funds for personal use and to benefit third-party beneficiaries.
Upon receipt of a petition from the bank on July 18, 2022, the Commission commenced investigations. This led to identification and tracing of stolen funds to various accounts, including that of customer Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, who was one of the major beneficiaries of the alleged fraud.
Investigation revealed that Ojora fraudulently concealed N43 million in the account of his friend, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode, domiciled in Access Bank. He also concealed N122,200,009 in the account of his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, domiciled in Sterling Bank.
The court had granted an interim forfeiture order on October 2, 2025, while directing any interested party to show cause why the money should not be finally forfeited. On Monday, counsel moved the Commission’s motion for final forfeiture.
An operative stated that he was among those assigned to investigate the petition received on July 18, 2022. The fraud and unauthorized transfer of funds were due to a system glitch during which over N2.5 billion was allegedly stolen.
The glitch gave customers opportunity, using the PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd banking platform, to illegally transfer funds even when their Sterling Bank accounts were not funded. The bank was able to salvage N81,108,143.8 from the monumental fraud, which is now sought to be finally forfeited.
The bank also salvaged N490,349,000 from its internal ledger. The Commission published the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper on February 19, 2026, inviting any interested party to show cause why the final order should not be made.
After listening to submissions, Justice Bogoro held that the application was meritorious and granted it. The judge subsequently ordered final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
System glitches are one of the major challenges bedeviling several Nigerian banks, creating opportunities for fraud. Fraud losses among Nigerian banks reached N52.26 billion from over 70,000 transactions in 2024, according to data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System.
This represents a 4.5-fold increase from the N11.61 billion lost during the same period in 2023, with most cases arising from electronic channels. Fraud targeting institutions is often enabled by insider collusion, while fraud against individuals usually succeeds due to negligence or lack of awareness.
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