Lagos court jails man three years over ₦8.56bn Wema Bank cyber heist
Story: Written by Joseph November 6,2025
The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced one Samuel Asiegbu to three years in prison for his role in a massive ₦8.56 billion cyber fraud against Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.
Justice Rahman Oshodi handed down the judgment on Wednesday, with no option of fine attached to the sentence.
Asiegbu was arraigned alongside two others — Hamza Zakaria and Nurudeen Ibrahim — as well as a fourth suspect, Alhaji Sulaiman, who is still at large. The four were docked by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a four-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, and illegal access to the bank’s computer systems.
The defendants first appeared in court on June 23, 2025, and all pleaded not guilty. However, Asiegbu later changed his plea, leading the court to conclude his matter while trial continues for the remaining defendants.
According to the EFCC, the syndicate hacked into Wema Bank’s servers in January 2025 and siphoned ₦8,568,090,500 from customer accounts.
The prosecution told the court that the offences contravened Sections 409 and 386 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, covering cyber intrusion, theft, and conspiracy.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi convicted Asiegbu on counts three and four. He was sentenced to 10 months and eight days on the third count, and one year and eight months on the fourth count, with both sentences running concurrently — amounting to a total of three years behind bars. Counts one and two were struck out.
The judge thereafter adjourned the ongoing trial of Zakaria, Ibrahim, and the at-large Sulaiman until November 14, 2025.
