Ex-Banker Bags Three-Year Jail Term Over ₦8.56 Billion Fraud
A former banker, Samuel Asiegbu, has been sentenced to three years in prison without an option of fine for his role in an ₦8.56 billion fraud involving a first-generation Nigerian bank. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the conviction in a statement on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, revealing that Asiegbu was charged alongside several others for conspiracy, stealing, and unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to defraud, contrary to Sections 409 and 386 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2011. The defendants were first arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on June 23, 2025, and all initially pleaded not guilty. However, Asiegbu later changed his plea to guilty, leading Justice Rahman Oshodi to convict and sentence him. “The court sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and eight days’ imprisonment on count three and one year and eight months on count four, both without an option of fine. The sentences are to run concurrently. Consequently, the court struck out counts one and two,” the EFCC stated. The trial of the remaining defendants will continue, with the court adjourning the case to November 14, 2025. In May 2025, PUNCH Online reported that the EFCC arraigned three bankers — Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu, Fabian Onyeimachi, and Kingsley Ejim Kelechi — along with four other accomplices, for their alleged roles in manipulating the bank’s internal systems to execute the multibillion-naira fraud. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed that the accused “tampered with critical banking data in January 2025, causing a financial loss of ₦8,568,090,500,” and conspired with others still at large “to carry out the fraudulent transactions for their personal benefit.”