The trial of a former Access Bank employee, Olajide Ogunmoroti, and three others accused of orchestrating a N5.7 billion fraud resumed at the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, May 15, 2025, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its first prosecution witness.
The witness, Abdulmajeed Agboola, a staff member of Access Bank Plc, took the stand before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe in the case involving Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaje.
The defendants are facing an amended 10-count charge bordering on stealing, money laundering, obtaining credit by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime, and unauthorised access to computer materials.
One of the charges read, “That you, Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike and Moses Iruolaje, sometime in 2023, with a dishonest intent, stole and converted for your own use the sum of N2,253,827,379.23, being property of Access Bank Plc., thereby committed an offence of stealing, contrary to Sections 280 and punishable under Section 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
Another charge read, “That you, Olajide Ogunmoroti, Michael Igbomina, David Onyeike and Moses Iruolaje, sometime in 2023, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with a dishonest intent, stole and converted for your own use the sum of N3,473,166,731, property of Access Bank Plc., thereby committed an offence of stealing, contrary to Sections 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
Agboola, who was led in evidence by EFCC counsel Abdulhamid L. Tukur, detailed how the alleged fraud was uncovered.
He testified that Ogunmoroti was the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) representative at Access Bank’s Abakaliki branch, where a server glitch was discovered during internal investigations.
According to Agboola, “There was a fraudulent overdraft limit maintained on our customers’ accounts, which enabled them to make withdrawals from the unfunded accounts.
“We observed those suspicious overdraft limits maintained on customers’ accounts, which allowed them to access funds and transferred to accounts maintained in both Access Bank and other banks.
“We identified customers whose accounts benefitted from the suspicious overdraft maintenance with a total exposure of over N5billion.”
The witness further testified that during the review of CCTV footage from the branch, it was discovered that the recordings had been erased.
“During investigations, everything was pointing at the first defendant. He admitted that he used a private laptop in connection with the bank’s server through which they gained access to the bank’s data,” Agboola told the court.
He added that the use of personal laptops was strictly against the bank’s policy.
Following the testimony, the prosecution sought to tender petitions from Access Bank as evidence. With no objection from the defence, the court admitted the documents.
Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently adjourned the case to May 20, for continuation of the trial.
