*Only N571m recovered as court orders forfeiture
Billions of naira siphoned from a banking system glitch, but only a fraction recovered. That is the stark picture emerging from a major fraud involving Sterling Bank Plc after a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the forfeiture of part of the funds traced to the scheme.
In total, about N571 million has so far been recovered from the N2.5 billion fraud, highlighting the scale of losses suffered after customers allegedly exploited a technical flaw in the bank’s electronic payment system.
Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in Ikoyi on Monday ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.08 to the Federal Government in favour of Sterling Bank, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The forfeited amount forms part of the total funds salvaged after what investigators described as a “monumental fraud” triggered by a system glitch that allowed customers to transfer money even when their accounts had no funds.
According to court filings, the bank lost more than N2.5 billion after certain customers exploited the technical failure and moved funds into their own accounts and those of third parties.
Despite investigations and recovery efforts, a substantial portion of the money has already vanished.
Investigators told the court that the bank could not salvage N295,916,201.02, as the funds had already been withdrawn and converted by those involved before authorities could intervene.
However, the bank managed to recover N81,108,143.08 from accounts linked to the fraud, while another N490,349,000 was retrieved from its internal ledger, bringing the total recovered amount to about N571 million.
Even with those recoveries, the case illustrates how a banking system failure can rapidly translate into massive financial losses once exploited by opportunistic customers.
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An affidavit filed by EFCC investigator, Maina Gapani Gyal, revealed that the fraud was linked to the PayAttitude Global Ltd banking platform, an electronic wallet and payment scheme subscribed to by Sterling Bank.
The glitch allegedly enabled customers to initiate transfers through the platform even when their Sterling Bank accounts were not funded.
“That over N2,500,000,000 was stolen by some customers of the bank and converted to their own personal use as well as to the use of some third-party beneficiaries,” the investigator stated.
“The said fraud and unauthorised transfer of funds was due to a system glitch in the bank.”
Investigators identified Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora as one of the major beneficiaries of the fraudulent transfers.
According to the EFCC, Ojora allegedly concealed N43 million in the account of his friend, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode, domiciled with Access Bank Plc.
Another N122.2 million was allegedly hidden in the account of his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, held with Sterling Bank.
Investigators said such transfers were intended to disguise the origin of the funds and complicate recovery efforts.
The court had earlier issued an interim forfeiture order on 2 October 2025, directing that the order be published in a national newspaper for any interested party to challenge it.
The notice was subsequently published in The Punch newspaper on February 19, 2026, but no objections were filed.
After reviewing the EFCC’s application, Justice Bogoro ruled that the request had merit.
“Having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and the same is accordingly granted,” the judge said.
The court consequently ordered that the N81,108,143.08 be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank.
The case has drawn attention to potential vulnerabilities within Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payment ecosystem, particularly when technical faults intersect with weak transaction controls.
Financial crime experts say the incident underscores the need for stronger safeguards, faster fraud detection systems and tighter monitoring of electronic payment platforms, as banks increasingly rely on digital infrastructure.
Investigations into the broader fraud scheme are ongoing.
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