A Lagos High Court has sentenced Samuel Asiegbu to three years in prison for an N8.56 billion cyber fraud.
He was convicted for illegally accessing Wema Bank’s network and diverting customers’ funds.
A Lagos State High Court sitting at the Special Offences Division, Ikeja, has sentenced one Samuel Asiegbu to three years in prison for his role in a massive N8.56 billion cyber fraud targeting Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.
Justice Rahman Oshodi delivered the judgment on Wednesday, convicting Asiegbu on two of the four counts filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judge ruled that Asiegbu would serve his sentence without the option of a fine.
Asiegbu was prosecuted alongside Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and another suspect identified as Alhaji Sulaiman, who is still at large. The four were charged with conspiracy, stealing, and unlawful access to a computer network belonging to Wema Bank.
The EFCC had earlier arraigned the defendants on June 23, 2025, where all initially pleaded not guilty. However, Asiegbu later changed his plea to guilty, paving the way for his conviction while trial continues for the remaining defendants.
According to the prosecution, the defendants conspired in January 2025 to hack into Wema Bank’s computer servers, gaining unauthorized access to customer accounts. Through this breach, they allegedly diverted a total of N8,568,090,500 from various accounts held with the bank.
The anti-graft agency explained that their actions violated Sections 409 and 386 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2011, which prohibit conspiracy, theft, and cyber-related offences.
Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and eight days’ imprisonment on count three and one year and eight months on count four. The judge ordered that both sentences run concurrently, meaning Asiegbu will serve three years in total.
The court also struck out counts one and two of the charge, which related to conspiracy and stealing, before adjourning further hearing for the trial of the remaining defendants, Zakaria, Ibrahim, and Sulaiman, to November 14, 2025.
