Former Financial and Retail Products Manager with Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Samuel Asiegbu, was on Thursday sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to hacking and stealing N8.56 billion from the bank.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, found Asiegbu guilty on multiple counts bordering on conspiracy, fraud, and unauthorized access to a computer system, contrary to the provisions of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2011.
According to the judgement, the court sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and 8 days imprisonment on count three and 1 year and 8 months on count four.
However, both sentences are to run concurrently, with no option of fine. The court, however, struck out counts one and two.
Asiegbu was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside three others, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman, over allegations of manipulating Wema Bank’s internal systems in January 2025, leading to a financial loss exceeding N8.5 billion.
The EFCC informed the court during arraignment on June 23, 2025, that the offences violated Sections 409 and 386 of the Lagos State Criminal Law.
While all defendants initially pleaded not guilty, Asiegbu later changed his plea, which led to his conviction and sentencing.
Meanwhile, Justice Oshodi has fixed November 14, 2025, for the commencement of trial of the remaining defendants.