The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦1,292,798,746.81 stolen from Sterling Bank Plc due to a system glitch, in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the benefit of the bank.
The judgment was delivered by Justice D.I. Dipeolu following an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
According to an official EFCC statement on Saturday, the forfeited sum was part of over ₦2.5 billion allegedly criminally withdrawn by several individuals after a technical error occurred in the systems of Sterling Bank Plc. The incident prompted the bank to file a petition with the EFCC, triggering a detailed investigation.
The EFCC said its probe revealed that the funds were traced to various personal and corporate accounts across multiple banks.
The Commission identified the following accounts holding parts of the stolen funds:
These accounts were subject to an earlier interim forfeiture order granted by the court on March 12, 2025, alongside a directive to publish the order in a national daily, allowing any party with legal interest to appear and contest the forfeiture.
The EFCC, through its counsel Hannatu U. KofarNaisa, filed a motion on notice dated January 8, 2025, seeking the final forfeiture of the funds. The anti-graft agency argued that the money was “reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity” and therefore should be permanently forfeited to the government.
EFCC also informed the court that The Punch Newspaper had carried the publication on March 24, 2025, in compliance with the court’s directive.
Justice Dipeolu, in granting the final forfeiture, stated:
“Having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and same is accordingly granted.”
The court, therefore, ordered the permanent forfeiture of the ₦1.29 billion to the Federal Government, with Sterling Bank Plc recognized as the beneficiary.
This ruling comes months after a similar development in 2024, when a Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim freezing order on multiple accounts at FairMoney Microfinance Bank Ltd, PalmPay Limited, and Opay Digital Services Limited.
The case involved ₦139,630,000 wrongly credited to customer accounts due to a system glitch at TAJ Bank Ltd. The order followed an ex parte motion filed by the bank and six of its affected customers on July 23, 2024, with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System Plc named as the fourth respondent.
Financial experts warn that with the increasing digitization of banking services, technical vulnerabilities, if left unchecked, could expose financial institutions to significant losses and legal liabilities.
A cybersecurity consultant noted:
“Adopting safer banking habits, strengthening institutional frameworks, and fostering inter-agency collaboration are essential steps for safeguarding Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.”