The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.80 linked to a massive fraud involving Sterling Bank Plc to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Justice Yelim Bogoro issued the order on Monday, March 9, 2026, following a motion on notice filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa.
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture of the funds on October 2, 2025, and directed that the order be published in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Investigations by the EFCC revealed that the funds formed part of more than N2.5 billion allegedly siphoned by some customers of Sterling Bank through unauthorized transfers caused by a system glitch within the bank’s electronic payment platform.
According to the anti-graft agency, the vulnerability enabled certain customers to exploit the PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd banking platform, an e-wallet and payment scheme subscribed to by Sterling Bank, to transfer funds even when their accounts had insufficient balances.
The EFCC began investigating the matter after receiving a petition from Sterling Bank on July 18, 2022. Subsequent inquiries traced a portion of the diverted funds to several accounts linked to individuals believed to be beneficiaries of the fraudulent scheme.
One of the key suspects identified in the investigation was Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, who allegedly diverted large sums from the stolen funds.
EFCC investigators said Ojora concealed ₦43 million in the account of his associate, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode, held with Access Bank Plc, while another ₦122.2 million was traced to the account of his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, domiciled in Sterling Bank.
An affidavit supporting the EFCC’s application was deposed to by Maina Gapani Gyal, an investigator with the Commission who participated in the probe.
In the affidavit, Gyal stated that the fraud involved the unauthorized transfer and conversion of over ₦2.5 billion belonging to the bank into personal accounts and accounts of third-party beneficiaries.
He further disclosed that while the bank was able to recover some of the stolen funds, a total of ₦295,916,201.02 could not be salvaged after being withdrawn and converted by the perpetrators.
The investigator added that the recovered ₦81,108,143.80 was part of the funds traced to the accounts linked to the suspects and was the subject of the forfeiture proceedings.
EFCC counsel, KofarNaisa, informed the court that the interim forfeiture order had been published in The Punch newspaper on February 19, 2026, inviting any interested parties to contest the forfeiture.
However, no objections were filed within the stipulated period.
After reviewing the motion and supporting documents, Justice Bogoro ruled that the application was meritorious and granted the request for final forfeiture.
Consequently, the court ordered that the sum of ₦81,108,143.80 be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
