A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded a 47-year-old man, Ugochukwu Eze, also known as “Amazon”, in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service over allegations of hacking into the computer system of SunTrust Bank Plc and diverting more than N800m.
Eze was arraigned before Justice Friday Ogazi by the Department of State Services on charges bordering on cybercrime and money laundering.
The prosecution counsel, M. Bajela, told the court that the defendant, alongside others said to be at large, allegedly carried out the cyberattack between 2023 and 2026 by unlawfully gaining access to the bank’s computer system and fraudulently transferring over N800m through multiple accounts.
The DSS further alleged that the suspect concealed and moved proceeds of the alleged cybercrime while unlawfully accessing critical national financial information infrastructure.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences contravene relevant provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him.
Following his plea, the prosecution asked the court to remand the defendant pending trial, while defence counsel, E. Afrogha, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed, noting that his client had spent more than one month in DSS custody.
Bajela opposed the immediate hearing of the application, saying the prosecution had yet to be served with the bail papers and was prepared to proceed with the trial.
Justice Ogazi subsequently adjourned the matter until August 24 for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the determination of his request for bail.
One of the charges alleged that Eze unlawfully interfered with the computer system of SunTrust Bank between 2023 and 2026, resulting in the fraudulent diversion of over N800m belonging to the financial institution, an offence punishable under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.