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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, June 24, 2025, opened its case against five individuals, including two employees of Premium Trust Bank, over an alleged plot to breach the bank’s server and steal customer funds.
Testifying before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Mr. Ajayi Michael Folaseye, a staff member in the bank’s Information Technology (IT) department, detailed how he rejected a $7,000 bribe allegedly offered by his colleague, Kehinde Odeyemi, in exchange for unauthorized access to a sensitive IP address.
Ajayi, who is the first prosecution witness (PW1), told the court that the incident occurred on May 5, 2023. Odeyemi, an internal auditor with the bank, allegedly approached him during office hours and asked for a “generic IP address” used by the IT department.
“She asked for a backdoor into the system,” Ajayi testified. “I told her such a generic IP didn’t exist and that I was only assigned a personal one for work purposes.”
According to him, Odeyemi initially offered $5,000 in cash, then raised the amount to $7,000 when he declined. “She asked me to keep quiet about it and even threatened to resign if I told anyone,” he added.
Ajayi reported the incident to his superiors, including Mr. Kenneth Nwaeze and Mr. Mike Koledoye, the bank’s Head of IT, who convened a meeting the next day to address the matter. A week later, on May 13, Ajayi and two other staff members were invited to the EFCC office to make formal statements.
“The IP she requested was a gateway to our internal systems—granting access to customer data and core banking operations,” Ajayi explained. “If compromised, it could have led to a major data breach and cyberattack.”
The EFCC, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Rotimi Oyedepo, alongside Bilkisu Buhari and Hannatu Kofaransa, tendered Ajayi’s written statement as evidence. Although the defence objected, claiming the document was illegible, Justice Owoeye admitted it, stating that the concerns raised were matters for cross-examination.
The accused persons—Kehinde Odeyemi, Matthew Adeniyi Damilola (another Premium Trust staff), and three others: Samson Latshin Dakup, Bolaji Omotosho Yinka, and Sunday Badeniyi Okunola—are being tried on a seven-count charge of conspiracy to steal and cybercrime.
According to the EFCC, between April and May 2025, the defendants conspired to manipulate server and domain credentials belonging to Premium Trust Bank, in a bid to access and divert depositors’ funds.
The charge also includes other suspects now at large, identified as Humble, Wasiu, Isa Ismaila, and Victor Joshua Ilemona (also known as Oracle).
Part of the charge reads:
“That you, Kehinde Odeyemi, Samson Latshin Dakup, Bolaji Omotosho Yinka, Sunday Badeniyi Okunola, and Matthew Adeniyi Damilola, along with others now at large, conspired to unlawfully manipulate the server access codes and domain credentials of Premium Trust Bank to gain unauthorized access to its database and steal depositors’ funds—thereby committing an offence contrary to Sections 27 and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), punishable under Section 28(2) of the same Act.”
Earlier in the proceedings, defence counsel Adeleke Adepoju (for the first defendant) and lawyers for the second and fifth defendants sought an adjournment, citing inadequate access to prosecution materials and unclear proof of evidence. Oyedepo opposed the move, saying the defence had received the documents since June 19 and had agreed on the trial date.
Justice Owoeye dismissed the objections and ordered the trial to proceed, adjourning the matter to July 18, 2025 for continuation.
The high-profile case has raised fresh concerns about internal cyber risks in Nigeria’s banking sector, even as stakeholders continue to push for stronger data protection frameworks and employee integrity systems.
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