Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, March 9, 2026, ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.08 to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
The ruling followed a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa, after the court had granted an interim forfeiture in October 2025.
The interim order had also been published in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the funds should not be forfeited.
The forfeited amount is part of over N2.5 billion stolen by Sterling Bank customers due to a system glitch, which allowed them to transfer funds for personal gain and to third-party beneficiaries.
Investigations traced some of the stolen funds to accounts belonging to Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, a major beneficiary, including ₦43 million in a friend’s account and ₦122.2 million in his wife’s account.
During proceedings, KofarNaisa informed the court that the application was supported by an affidavit from EFCC investigator Maina Gapani Gyal, who highlighted how the PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd banking platform was exploited during the fraud.
In the affidavit, Gyal noted: “Over N2.5 billion was stolen by some customers of the bank and converted to their personal use as well as that of third-party beneficiaries. The fraud occurred due to a system glitch that allowed illegal transfers when accounts were not funded.”
Gyal added that while the bank salvaged N81,108,143.08 of the stolen funds, the remainder had been withdrawn and converted by the perpetrators.
Justice Bogoro, after reviewing the submissions, held that: “Having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and the same is accordingly granted.”
The judgment officially forfeits the recovered N81.1 million to the Federal Government in favour of Sterling Bank Plc, marking a significant step in the resolution of one of Nigeria’s notable banking fraud cases.