EFCC Says Some Bank Workers Help Foreign Hackers Steal Billions from Nigerian Banks

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that some workers in Nigerian banks are secretly helping hackers from outside the country steal money. He said these workers give access to hackers who are operating from places like Eastern Europe and the United States. Once they get into the system, these hackers quickly move large amounts of money, billions of naira out of the banks.

In an interview on TVC News, Olukoyede explained that EFCC has arrested several of these bank workers who helped both local and foreign hackers to carry out well-planned cyberattacks on Nigerian banks.

“These attacks are very advanced,” he said. “They involve people both in Nigeria and abroad. Some bad workers inside the banks allow hackers to get in. Once they have access, the hackers take over the bank’s computer system and move money very fast.”

He said six Nigerian banks have recently been attacked in this way. In three of those cases, EFCC was able to recover huge amounts of money ₦9.7 billion, ₦6.7 billion, and ₦3.7 billion. Key suspects in the attacks have been arrested and are helping the EFCC with more information about other similar attacks.

EFCC Fighting Back

Olukoyede said the EFCC is working hard to stop this from happening again. He told bank leaders to improve their security systems and do regular checks to make sure their workers are not working with criminals.

He also reassured the public that their money is safe, and there is no need to panic. He said the EFCC is serious about protecting Nigerians’ money and catching those who commit financial crimes.

In 2024 alone, EFCC got over 4,111 people convicted and recovered more than ₦365.4 billion from different cases. Olukoyede asked EFCC officers to work even harder this year to beat that record.

Bank Staff and Others Charged in Court

In a similar case, EFCC recently took three Wema Bank workers and four other people to court. They are accused of working together to steal over ₦8.5 billion through cyber fraud.

The workers are Samuel Asiegbu, Fabian Onyeimachi, and Kingsley Kejim. The other accused are Hannah Okunlola Adesokan, Hamza Zakariya, Achionu Ubaku, and Sunday Osademe. According to court papers, they changed and erased data from Wema Bank’s computers in January 2025 to steal money.

One charge said:
“You, Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu, and others knowingly caused a loss of ₦8.5 billion to Wema Bank by altering computer data without permission, for your own benefit. This is a crime under the Cybercrimes Act of 2015.”

All seven people pleaded not guilty, and the judge has postponed the case to June 6, 2025.

Another Big Fraud Case in Access Bank

EFCC also brought another case to court involving four former workers of Access Bank. They are Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje. These workers allegedly took advantage of weak bank security to steal ₦5.73 billion.

They found a problem in the bank’s computer system and used their own personal laptops to get into the bank’s server. Once inside, they had access to customer accounts and took out money.

A witness from the bank, Abdulmajeed Agboola, testified that these workers misused their access and that the bank’s security was not strong enough to stop them. Many people have since asked how such a huge amount of money could be taken without the bank’s top officials noticing.

EFCC Still Following Leads on Other Fraud Cases

EFCC is also trying to recover money linked to a big scam called the CBEX Ponzi scheme. The scammers used cryptocurrency wallets to hide the stolen money. Olukoyede said some suspects have already been arrested, and others are still being searched for.

“We’ve gone far in this case,” he said. “We’ve arrested some people and recovered some money. We don’t want to share too many details now so we don’t mess up the investigation. But we are still looking for more people who are on the run.”