A 43-year-old man Sunday Ozimede, who allegedly hacked Moniepoint Microfinance Bank Vault and stole the sum of N1,190, 728, 076 bn, from the bank, was on Monday arraigned by the police before the Federal High Court in Lagos State.
The defendant is facing three counts bordering on conspiracy, hacking and obtaining by false pretence preferred against him by the Police Special Fraud Unit.
The PSFU’s Prosecution Counsel, Justine Enang, told the court that the defendant allegedly hacked the microfinance bank and obtained the sum of N945, 728,076m, by false pretence.
Enang told the court that the defendant caused financial loss to Moniepoint Microfinance Bank to the tune of N145m, by planting a bug in the bank’s data system.
He said Ozimede and others now at large conspired, amongst themselves, to commit the alleged offences sometime in May 2024.
The prosecutor told the court that Ozimede fraudulently diverted the above-mentioned money from various Moniepont Microfinance Bank’s customers’ deposited funds through numerous transactions to other banks.
According to the prosecutor, the offences committed contravened Sections 27 (i)(b),14 of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015 as Amended in 2024, and Section 14 (1) of the same Act, and 18(2) (b) & (d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Following his not-guilty plea, the prosecutor urged the court to remand him to a correctional centre pending the conclusion of the trial and asked the court for a trial date.
The defendant’s lawyer, Abdulmalik Ibrahim, in a motion for bail, pleaded with the court to admit his client to bail in the most liberal terms.
But the prosecutor opposed the bail application and accused the defendant of being a ‘flight risk’, saying that he might not turn up for his trial if granted bail.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, after listening to the parties’ submissions, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N50m, with one surety in like sum.
The judge also ordered that the surety must be a landed property owner within the jurisdiction of the court.
He added that the bail terms must be verified by the court’s registrar and the prosecutor.
The case was adjourned to March 13, 2025, for trial.
