A 47-year-old man, Ugochukwu Eze, has been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of SunTrust Bank Plc and fraudulently diverting N800 million into several accounts.
Eze, also known as Amazon, was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Friday Ogazi following his prosecution by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Counsel for the DSS, M. Bajela, told the court that the defendant and others still at large conspired between 2023 and 2026 to unlawfully and seriously hinder the operation of SunTrust Bank Plc’s computer system (server), allegedly diverting more than N800 million belonging to the bank.
The prosecutor further alleged that the defendant concealed and transferred various sums of money traced to the unlawful cyberattacks on some financial institutions.
He was also accused of gaining unauthorised access to critical national financial information infrastructure.
According to the prosecutor, the alleged offences contravene Sections 5, 6(1) and 8 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024, and Sections 10, 18(2)(d) and 20 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, the prosecutor asked the court to fix a trial date and remand the defendant pending the determination of the case.
However, defence counsel, E. Afrogha, informed the court that she had filed a bail application for her client, adding that he had been in DSS custody for more than a month.
The prosecutor, however, told the court that he had not been served with the bail application and added that his witnesses were available.
After listening to both parties, Justice Ogazi adjourned the matter until August 24 for the hearing of the bail application.
The judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) pending the hearing of the bail application.
One of the counts reads: “That you, UGOCHUKWU EZE (AKA AMAZON) (M) (47 YEARS), sometime between 2023 and 2026 in Lagos and other places within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, unlawfully seriously hindered the function of SunTrust Bank Plc’s computer system, and in the process fraudulently diverted over N800,000,000.00 (Eight Hundred Million Naira) belonging to the said SunTrust Bank Plc, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.”
