Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced Samuel Asiegbu to three years in prison without the option of a fine. Asiegbu was convicted for his role in an N8.56 billion fraud perpetrated at Wema Bank Nigeria Plc. He was originally arraigned alongside Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman (now at large) on four counts of conspiracy, stealing, and unauthorized access to a computer system, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). While the other defendants continue their trial after an initial not-guilty plea on June 23, 2025, Asiegbu changed his plea to guilty, leading to his immediate conviction and sentencing.
The EFCC informed the court that in January 2025, Samuel Asiegbu, along with Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, Alhaji Sulaiman (who is currently at large), and other collaborators, conspired to illegally access the computer systems of Wema Bank Nigeria Plc with the intent to steal money.
The prosecution specified that these individuals carried out an unauthorised breach of Wema Bank’s computer and server systems to steal a massive aggregate sum of N8,568,090,500 from various bank accounts. The prosecution counsel noted that these offenses violated Sections 409 and 386 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Asiegbu to ten months and eight days in prison on count three and one year and eight months on count four. Crucially, the judge ruled that these sentences must run concurrently (at the same time), bringing Asiegbu’s total jail term to three years, with no option of a fine. The court also struck out the first two counts of the charges. Consequently, the judge adjourned the case until November 14, 2025, for the continuation of the trial for the remaining defendants.
