Court Orders Final Forfeiture of ₦81.1 Million in Sterling Bank Glitch Fraud Case

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A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦81,108,143.80 linked to a major banking fraud involving Sterling Bank Plc, bringing a new development in the long-running investigation into a system glitch that allowed unauthorized withdrawals.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Yelim Bogoro after an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The court directed that the recovered funds be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of the bank.

The decision followed an earlier interim forfeiture order granted on October 2, 2025, which required the EFCC to publish a notice inviting anyone with a legitimate claim to the money to come forward. According to the court, no valid claims were filed during that period, paving the way for the final forfeiture order.

Investigations revealed that the funds were part of a much larger fraud linked to a temporary technical vulnerability in the bank’s digital system connected to PayAttitude Global Limited.

The glitch reportedly allowed certain customers to carry out transfers even when their accounts had insufficient or zero balances, creating an opportunity for large-scale unauthorized withdrawals.

The issue first came to light when Sterling Bank Plc formally petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on July 18, 2022, prompting a detailed investigation into suspicious transactions across several accounts.

During the investigation, EFCC operatives traced a portion of the stolen funds to Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, who was identified as one of the beneficiaries of the illicit transfers.

According to investigators, Ojora allegedly attempted to hide part of the proceeds by moving money into accounts belonging to close associates and family members. Among the transactions uncovered were:

• ₦43 million deposited into the Access Bank account of his associate, Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode.
• ₦122.2 million transferred into a Sterling Bank account belonging to his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora.

In a sworn affidavit presented before the court, EFCC investigator Maina Gapani Gyal explained how the system vulnerability enabled the unauthorized withdrawals and how investigators traced the funds.

While the total amount believed to have been siphoned through the glitch exceeded ₦2.5 billion, the bank was able to recover ₦490.349 million internally during its internal review of the incident.

The ₦81.1 million now forfeited represents part of the funds successfully tracked and recovered by investigators. However, authorities say approximately ₦295.9 million remains unrecovered after being withdrawn and dispersed before intervention.

During the proceedings, EFCC counsel Hannatu U. KofarNaisa urged the court to grant the final forfeiture since no individual came forward to challenge the interim order.

The ruling is one of several court decisions connected to the wider Sterling Bank glitch scandal, which has led to multiple recoveries of funds linked to fraudulent withdrawals.

Authorities say the case highlights the risks associated with exploiting digital banking errors and reinforces ongoing efforts to recover stolen funds and combat financial crime.

Although Sterling Bank Plc has not publicly commented on the latest ruling, the court’s decision ensures that the recovered funds will be returned through the appropriate government channels.

For regulators and financial institutions, the case also underscores the importance of stronger safeguards in digital banking systems to prevent similar incidents in the future.