Five arraigned for hacking Premium Trust Bank server

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has remanded five individuals—including a bank manager and a nursing mother—over their alleged involvement in a cyberattack on the server of Premium Trust Bank.

The defendants are Matthew Adeniyi Damilola, E-Payment Service Manager at the bank; Kehinde Odeyemi, a nursing mother with a four-month-old baby; Samson Latshin Dakup, Bolaji Omotosho Yinka, and Sunday Badeniyi Okunnola.

Arraigned before Justice Alexander Owoeye, the five were charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a six-count indictment bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime, and unauthorized access to a financial institution’s database.

Prosecuting counsel, Zeenat B. Atiku, told the court that the offences were committed between April and May 2025.

She alleged that the accused conspired with three accomplices still at large—identified as Humble, Isa Ismaila, and Victor Joshua Ilemona (a.k.a. Oracle).

According to Atiku, Damilola unlawfully disclosed sensitive banking credentials, including the server IP address and domain information, which enabled the unauthorized intrusion into Premium Trust Bank’s system.

The breach allegedly resulted in illicit financial gains totaling $10,000.

The prosecution further stated that the co-defendants made attempts to infiltrate the bank’s internal network and acquired a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 440 G9 laptop (Serial No. SN#5CD2473N6G), configured specifically to bypass established security protocols.

The EFCC said the conduct of the defendants violates Sections 12(1)(b), 27, 28(1)(b)(c), and 28(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and is punishable under Section 28(2) of the same Act.

All five defendants pleaded not guilty.

Following their plea, the prosecution requested a trial date and asked that the accused be remanded in custody. The court declined oral bail applications from the defense, directing that formal bail motions be filed.

Justice Owoeye adjourned the case to June 30, 2025, for trial, and ordered that all defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service. However, the court granted liberty to the defense to seek an earlier trial date upon the submission of their bail applications.