The Federal High Court, Ikoyi has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦81,108,143.80 stolen from Sterling Bank Plc due to a system glitch that allowed some customers to illegally transfer funds.
Justice Yelim Bogoro delivered the ruling on Tuesday, forfeiting the money to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The order followed a motion on notice filed by the EFCC through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa. According to the Commission, the forfeited funds were part of over ₦2.5 billion illicitly taken by some customers and transferred for personal use and to third-party beneficiaries as a result of a banking system glitch.
Investigations traced the stolen funds to various accounts, including that of a key beneficiary, Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora. The EFCC revealed that Ojora allegedly concealed ₦43 million in the account of his friend, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode (Access Bank), and ₦122.2 million in the account of his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora (Sterling Bank).
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on October 2, 2025, allowing interested parties to show cause why the funds should not be finally forfeited. Counsel to the EFCC, KofarNaisa, moved for final forfeiture on Monday, highlighting that ₦81,108,143.8 had been recovered from the fraudulent transfers. The bank also salvaged ₦490,349,000 from its internal ledger.
The affidavit submitted by an EFCC operative detailed that the PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd platform used by Sterling Bank allowed customers to illegally transfer funds even from unfunded accounts.
Justice Bogoro, after reviewing the submissions, granted the application, officially ordering the funds to be forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of Sterling Bank.
System glitches remain a major challenge for Nigerian banks, providing opportunities for fraud. According to data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigerian banks recorded ₦52.26 billion in fraud losses from over 70,000 transactions in 2024—a 4.5-fold increase from ₦11.61 billion in 2023. Most fraud arises from electronic channels and is often facilitated by insider collusion or exploitation of customers through social engineering tactics such as scam calls, deceptive messages, malware, and fake websites.
