N8.56BN FRAUD: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT IN LAGOS

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The defendant, a baker from the Ileejo area of Lekki, Lagos, is being tried for sexual assault.

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has convicted and sentenced Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu to three years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for his role in an ₦8.56 billion fraud involving Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.

Asiegbu was arraigned alongside other defendants on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and unauthorized access to a computer system with intent to commit fraud, contrary to Sections 409 and 386 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The defendants were first arraigned on June 23, 2025, and all pleaded not guilty. However, Asiegbu later changed his plea to guilty, leading the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

Delivering judgment on November 5, 2025, Justice Oshodi sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and 8 days’ imprisonment on count three and 1 year and 8 months on count four—both without an option of fine and to run concurrently, amounting to a total of three years.

The court subsequently struck out counts one and two.

According to count three, Asiegbu and others “conspired without authorisation to access the computer systems of Wema Bank Nigeria Plc in order to facilitate the stealing of money.”

Count four further alleged that Asiegbu and his accomplices, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman (at large), “had unauthorised access to Wema Bank’s computer server with intent to facilitate the theft of ₦8,568,090,500 (Eight Billion, Five Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Ninety Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) from accounts domiciled in the bank.”

Justice Oshodi held that Asiegbu’s guilty plea and confession provided sufficient basis for conviction, emphasizing that cyber-enabled financial crimes pose a serious threat to the banking sector.

The case has been adjourned to November 14, 2025, for further trial of the remaining defendants.