A suspected cyber criminal has landed in court after the Department of State Services (DSS) accused him of masterminding a massive N800 million cyber heist involving SunTrust Bank Plc.
The 47-year-old suspect, Ugochukwu Eze, also known as “Amazon,” was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations that he and other suspects still at large hacked into the bank’s computer system and allegedly diverted more than N800 million.
The DSS alleged that the alleged cyber operation took place between 2023 and 2026, with the suspects unlawfully interfering with the bank’s server and transferring funds into several accounts.
According to the prosecution, Eze was also allegedly involved in concealing and transferring money traced to cyber-attacks on financial institutions.
He was further accused of gaining unauthorised access to critical national financial information infrastructure.
The allegations were presented to the court by DSS counsel, M. Bajela, who told the court that Eze and his alleged accomplices conspired to compromise SunTrust Bank’s computer system and divert funds belonging to the financial institution.
The charges were said to violate provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024, as well as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
But Eze pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for trial and order that the defendant remain in custody pending the determination of the case.
The defence counsel, E. Afrogha, however, told the court that she had filed a bail application for her client, stressing that Eze had already spent more than a month in DSS custody.
The prosecution countered that it had not been served with the bail application, although its witnesses were ready to testify.
Justice Friday Ogazi, after listening to both sides, adjourned the case until August 24 for hearing of the bail application.
The judge also ordered that Eze be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) pending the hearing.
One of the charges alleged that Eze, between 2023 and 2026 in Lagos and other locations within the court’s jurisdiction, unlawfully interfered with SunTrust Bank’s computer system and, in the process, fraudulently diverted more than N800 million belonging to the bank.
The allegation constitutes an offence punishable under Section 8 of the Cybercrimes Act, according to the prosecution.
The case has now put the alleged multimillion-naira cyber operation under judicial scrutiny, with the court expected to determine whether the accused will be granted bail on August 24.
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