A 43-year-old man, Sunday Ozimede, has been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) for allegedly hacking into the vault of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank and defrauding the bank of ₦1,190,728,076.

The defendant is facing charges of conspiracy, obtaining ₦945,728,076 under false pretenses, and causing financial loss to the bank through a cyber-attack. The prosecution, led by Justine Enang,Esq alleged that Ozimede, in collaboration with others still at large, committed the crimes in May 2024.

According to the prosecutor, Ozimede planted a bug in the bank’s data system, which enabled him to siphon funds from customers’ deposits into other accounts. He was further accused of fraudulently transferring ₦145 million to an account in his name.

The charges are said to contravene several provisions of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Ozimede pleaded not guilty to all charges. The prosecutor, citing the defendant as a potential flight risk, requested his remand in custody pending trial.

In response, the defendant’s counsel, Abdulmalik Ibrahim, moved a motion for bail, urging the court to grant his client bail under liberal terms. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, presiding over the case, granted Ozimede bail in the sum of ₦50 million with one surety of equal value. The surety is required to own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction, and the conditions must be verified by the court registrar and the prosecution.

The court adjourned the case to March 13, 2025, for trial.

Charges Against Ozimede

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