The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Osaretin Osagiede before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over an alleged N700 million fraud involving Best Start Micro Finance Bank.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, dated September 7, 2026.
Osagiede was arraigned on Friday, September 4, 2026, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi on three counts of unauthorised access to computer material and receiving stolen property.
According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences were committed in Lagos between March 2025 and January 2026.
One of the charges accused Osagiede and Zacharia Lorshe, who is currently at large, of bypassing the two-factor authentication (2FA) system on Ravenpay user accounts.
The EFCC alleged that the bypass was carried out intentionally to gain unauthorised access to the bank’s data.
The alleged offence was said to be contrary to Section 387 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
In another count, the prosecution alleged that Osagiede and Lorshe dishonestly received N700 million belonging to Best Start Micro Finance Bank, despite having reason to believe that the money was stolen.
The EFCC said the alleged offence contravened Sections 411 and 328(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
Osagiede pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, asked the court to fix a date for trial and urged it to remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application.
Justice Ogunjobi subsequently ordered that Osagiede be remanded in a correctional facility.
The judge adjourned the case until September 16, 2026, for hearing of the defendant’s bail application.
