The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two men before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations that they supplied credentials that could provide access to First City Monument Bank (FCMB)’s database.
Gideon Aghogho and Oscar Ebere Chukwuebuka were brought before Justice Friday Ogazi on eight counts under Sections 27 and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act. A third suspect, identified as Scott, was also named in the case but remains at large.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale said the alleged offences took place in Lagos between 24 and 26 July. The commission accused the defendants of conspiring to provide Aghogho’s access code to FCMB’s system through the bank’s local Administrative Credential, known as ITSD.
The EFCC said the credential could allow access to FCMB’s Virtual Centre Platform and was allegedly supplied for the purpose of committing an offence. The commission also accused Aghogho of separately disclosing the bank’s server IP and domain credentials without authorisation between April and May 2025.
Prosecutors alleged that Aghogho received $15,000 for providing the credentials. The allegations have not been tested at trial.
Aghogho pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Chukwuebuka pleaded guilty. Following Aghogho’s plea, prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari asked the court to remand him in a correctional centre and adjourn the matter for trial.
The prosecution also requested time to review the facts of the case following Chukwuebuka’s guilty plea. Justice Ogazi subsequently adjourned the matter until 27 August for a review of the facts and other proceedings, while ordering that the defendants remain in a correctional centre.
The case comes months after FCMB reportedly stopped an attempted cyber-fraud operation targeting more than N3 billion. Court proceedings in that separate case indicated that about N677 million had reached the alleged fraudsters before the transactions were detected, while roughly N2.4 billion was blocked or recovered.
The EFCC has not linked Aghogho, Chukwuebuka or the fugitive suspect Scott to that earlier incident. The two cases therefore remain separate as proceedings continue.
