EFCC arraigns bankers for ‘attempted cyber fraud’ | PremiumTrust Bank assures of resilient database

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arraigned two bankers and three others before a Lagos federal high court over an alleged conspiracy to hack into the server of PremiumTrust Bank and steal customers’ funds.

The EFCC said the suspects — Kehinde Odeyemi and Matthew Adeniyi Damilola — are both staff members of PremiumTrust Bank.

The duo, the commission said, were arraigned alongside Samson Latshin Dakup, Bolaji Omotosho Yinka, and Sunday Badeniyi Okunola on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted cyber fraud.

According to the EFCC, the defendants conspired to manipulate the bank’s domain credentials and server access codes between April and May 2025, to gain unauthorised access to its database.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency said the defendants pleaded not guilty to all counts when they appeared before Alexander Owoeye, the leading judge.

Zeenat Atiku, the prosecuting counsel, prayed the court to remand the defendants and fix a trial date.

But the defence counsel, including Adeleke Adepoju for the first defendant, sought bail in liberal terms, although without formal applications.

The EFCC said Owoeye declined the oral bail request and directed the defence teams to file formal applications.

The leading judge was said to have ordered the first defendant to be remanded at the Kirikiri correctional centre, while the other four were remanded at the Ikoyi correctional centre.

The matter was adjourned till June 30, 2025, for the commencement of trial.

‘OUR SYSTEMS ARE SECURE’

Speaking on the development, PremiumTrust reassured its customers and stakeholders that its digital infrastructure remains uncompromised.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the bank confirmed that the attempted breach was thwarted by its internal security systems and promptly escalated to the EFCC.

“Our Internal Information Security and IT Surveillance Teams detected and neutralised the threat in real-time,” the bank said.

“We appreciate the EFCC for its swift and professional intervention in arresting and prosecuting those involved.”

The bank added that its “world-class, multilayered cybersecurity framework” functioned exactly as designed, detecting and blocking the breach attempt without compromising customer data.

“We remain unwavering in our duty to protect customer data and deposits. This incident reinforces our commitment to robust cybersecurity protocols powered by AI-driven threat intelligence and real-time analytics,” it said.

PremiumTrust Bank also urged its customers to continue practising safe digital banking habits, assuring that it remains committed to transparency, security, and service excellence.