Three former staff of First Bank of Nigeria plc are on trial for conniving with hackers to steal N20 billion from the financial institution. This is according to a prosecution witness, Adamu Dahiru.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Ozioma Ugorji, 35; Ugwu Emeka, 32; and Obike Chukwuka, 38, as it accused them of attempting to steal N20 billion belonging to First Bank.
According to Dahiru, the suspects were all arrested after one of them connected a laptop he collected from a hacker syndicate to the bank’s server.
His words: “They conspired to give access to a fraudster to defraud the bank of over N20 billion. The report we gathered was that the money was in the cloud and they needed to bring it out.
“The second defendant (Emeka) had a meeting with the syndicate at a hotel.
“When the first defendant (Ugorji) was arrested, he made a statement that he was introduced to the syndicate by the third defendant (Chukwuka) and that they had communicated with someone from the headquarters.
“The second defendant made a statement that a laptop was given after several promises that he should connect the laptop to the bank’s system.
“When he was on duty, he connected the laptop to the banking system, but during the connection, the I.P. of the laptop was picked up and the system was destroyed.”
Having heard how to defendants connived with the hackers, the judge, S.O. Solebo adjourned the case till October 5, 2022, for the continuation of trial.
Worries for First Bank?
With First Bank officials conniving with hackers to cause a security breach that would enable them to steal N20 billion, BizWatch Nigeria understands that the trust of the financial institution calls for questioning.
Trust is central to the success and sustainability of every bank. This is because, it can drive engagement, increase loyalty, and has a direct impact on a bank’s bottom line.
