The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered 71 banks and other financial institutions to place debit restrictions on accounts allegedly used to receive funds fraudulently transferred from customers’ accounts domiciled with Access Bank.
The order followed an ex parte application filed by Access Bank after the lender detected an alleged cyber fraud in which N1.340bn was transferred from customers’ accounts without authorisation.
Justice Akintayo Aluko granted three of the major reliefs sought by the bank, directing the affected financial institutions to restrict transactions on the identified accounts and disclose the amount of the allegedly stolen funds that remained in them.
The judge, however, declined to grant the fourth relief seeking an order for the immediate reversal of the recovered funds, holding that such an order appeared to amount to a final determination of the matter.
The court adjourned further proceedings until August 31, 2026.
In its application filed on August 13, Access Bank told the court that it discovered the alleged fraud on August 12 involving some accounts operated with the bank.
The bank said its preliminary internal investigation showed that the incident was perpetrated through its internet banking platform, known as the Access SME App.
According to the bank, a total of N1,340,425,393 was moved from customers’ accounts without authorisation into accounts held with Access Bank and 71 other financial institutions.
The lender subsequently approached the court for urgent measures to prevent further movement of the funds and facilitate their recovery.
Among the reliefs sought was an order directing Access Bank and the affected financial institutions to place a post-no-debit restriction on the identified accounts and bank verification numbers linked to the transactions.
The bank also asked the court to compel the affected institutions to file affidavits disclosing the amounts of the allegedly diverted funds that had been recovered or remained in the beneficiary accounts.
Another relief sought was an order directing the institutions to watchlist the BVNs linked to the beneficiary accounts until the stolen funds were fully recovered, to the extent of the amounts received by individual beneficiaries.
Access Bank further asked the court to order the reversal of all salvaged funds into a designated Access Bank account.
Justice Aluko granted the first three reliefs but rejected the request for immediate reversal, ruling that granting it at the interlocutory stage could amount to issuing a final order.
The financial institutions named as respondents include First Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Wema Bank, Polaris Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Standard Chartered Bank, Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank, Providus Bank and Titan Trust Bank.
The list also includes several microfinance banks, payment service banks and fintech platforms, among them OPay, PalmPay, Kuda, Paga, Moniepoint, FairMoney, Carbon, SmartCash, MoMo Payment Service Bank, 9Payment Service Bank and 9japay.
The court’s intervention is expected to prevent the further dissipation of funds traced to the alleged unauthorised transfers while the parties work towards establishing the beneficiaries and determining the amounts that can still be recovered.
The case will come up again on August 31, when the court is expected to further consider the application and steps towards recovery of the funds.
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