A 43-year-old man, Sunday Ozimede, was on Monday arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking Moniepoint Microfinance Bank’s vault and stealing the sum of N1.1 billion.
Ozimede faces three charges of conspiracy, hacking, and obtaining money by false pretenses, as brought by the Police Special Fraud Unit.
Prosecution counsel, Justine Enang, told the court that Ozimede had unlawfully accessed the bank’s systems and siphoned N945,728,076 from various customer accounts.
Additionally, the defendant is accused of causing a financial loss of N145 million to the bank by planting a bug within its data system.
Enang revealed that Ozimede, alongside accomplices still at large, allegedly carried out the operation in May 2024.
The fraudster is accused of diverting funds from the bank’s customers into other banks through multiple fraudulent transactions.
The charges against Ozimede contravene Sections 27 (i)(b) and 14 of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, as well as Section 14(1) of the same Act and provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Ozimede pleaded not guilty to the charges. Following his plea, the prosecution requested that he be remanded in custody pending the conclusion of his trial and asked for a trial date.
Defense counsel, Abdulmalik Ibrahim, applied for bail, urging the court to grant it under liberal conditions.
However, the prosecution opposed the request, citing concerns that Ozimede might flee the jurisdiction if granted bail.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, after considering the submissions, granted Ozimede bail in the sum of N50 million, with one surety who must be a landed property owner within the court’s jurisdiction.
The bail terms will be verified by the court’s registrar and the prosecutor.
The case was adjourned to March 13, 2025, for further proceedings.
