Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday sentenced one Samuel Asiegbu to three years in prison for his involvement in a ₦8.56 billion cyber fraud targeting Wema Bank Nigeria Plc. Asiegbu was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Asiegbu was arraigned alongside Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman (currently at large) on four counts bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and unauthorized access to a computer system, preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The defendants were first arraigned on June 23, 2025, and had initially pleaded not guilty.

However, Asiegbu later changed his plea to guilty, leading to his conviction and sentencing, while the trial continues for the other defendants.

According to EFCC, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, Alhaji Sulaiman (at large), and others at large, sometime in January 2025, conspired amongst themselves without authorization and accessed the computer systems of Wema Bank Nigeria Plc to steal money.

The prosecution counsel also told the court that the convicts, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, Alhaji Sulaiman (at large), and others at large, sometime in January 2025, had unauthorized access to the Wema Bank computer and server with the intent to facilitate the stealing of an aggregate sum of N8,568,090,500 from accounts domiciled at Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.

In delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and 8 days’ imprisonment on count three and 1 year and 8 months on count four, both without the option of a fine.

The sentences are to run concurrently, amounting to a total of three years’ imprisonment.

The court also struck out counts one and two.

Consequently, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to November 14, 2025, for further trial of the remaining defendants.