The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned three employees of a first-generation bank; Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu, Fabian Chizaram Onyeimachi, and Kingsley Kelechi Ejim on Friday before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
They were arraigned alongside four alleged accomplices; Hanna Okunlola Adesokan, Hamza Zakariya, Achionu Chukwuka Ubaku, and Sunday Osademe on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of ₦8.5 billion.
One of the counts reads:
“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 domiciled 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.”
Another count reads:
“That you Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu and other persons at large, sometime in January 2025, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court knowingly and without authority caused the loss of an aggregate sum of ₦8,568,090,500 (Eight Billion, Five Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Ninety Thousand, Five Hundred Naira), property of Wema Bank Plc. by altering, erasing, and inputting data held in accounts domiciled in Wema Bank Plc. 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.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their plea, prosecuting counsel Aso Larrys Peters requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
