Access Bank has secured interim court orders to preserve and trace N1.34bn allegedly siphoned from four customers’ accounts through an unauthorised transaction
Access Bank Seeks Court Order to Recover N1.34bn Allegedly Stolen From Customers
Access Bank Plc has secured interim court orders to help trace and preserve N1.34bn allegedly siphoned from four customers’ accounts through an unauthorised transaction on its Access SME internet banking platform.
The bank approached the Federal High Court in Lagos for urgent intervention after an alleged system breach led to the transfer of the funds to accounts domiciled with Access Bank and 71 other financial institutions.
The affected customers are MIB TXN Bullion, Aba Branch; AIICO General Insurance Company Limited; Apogee Engineering Limited; and SIMS Nigeria Limited.
In an ex-parte application marked FHC/LAG/MISC/1168/2026, Access Bank listed 71 banks as respondents and asked the court to prevent the suspected beneficiaries from withdrawing or transferring the funds.
The bank specifically sought orders directing the respondent financial institutions to place Post-No-Debit restrictions on accounts and Bank Verification Numbers identified as having received portions of the allegedly unauthorised transfers.
It also asked the court to compel the banks to disclose the amounts traced to the beneficiary accounts and watchlist the BVNs linked to the accounts until the entire sum was recovered.
Access Bank further requested an order directing the immediate reversal of recovered funds into its designated account.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, Sodiq Jimoh, a litigation clerk at Country Hill Attorneys & Solicitors, counsel to the bank, said the alleged fraud was discovered when the bank resumed operations on August 12, 2026.
According to the affidavit, an internal investigation showed that N1,340,425,393 had been transferred without authorisation from the four affected accounts.
The bank alleged that N590,975,889 was removed from MIB TXN Bullion, Aba Branch; N420,449,504 from AIICO General Insurance Company Limited; N136m from Apogee Engineering Limited; and N193m from SIMS Nigeria Limited.
Access Bank told the court that its investigation traced portions of the funds to several accounts held by suspected beneficiaries across Access Bank and the 71 respondent banks.
It added that investigators had identified the BVNs of the alleged beneficiaries and accounts linked to them, describing the information as crucial to the recovery process.
The bank said it immediately contacted the affected financial institutions, informed them of the alleged fraud and requested that the funds be preserved while relevant account information was provided to aid the investigation.
It argued that urgent judicial intervention was necessary to prevent the funds from being withdrawn, transferred or otherwise dissipated.
Access Bank further disclosed that some of the respondent banks had already imposed PND restrictions on certain accounts but required a court order to sustain the restrictions.
The bank warned that failure to preserve the funds could lead to irreparable financial loss, arguing that the alleged cyber fraud had implications beyond the affected customers and could undermine broader economic and national interests.
After hearing submissions from Access Bank’s lawyer, Ifeoma E. Enyinnaya, and reviewing the processes and legal authorities before the court, Justice Akintayo Aluko held that the central purpose of the application was to preserve the funds from further dissipation.
The judge consequently granted the first three reliefs sought by the bank, principally covering preservation of the funds, disclosure of beneficiary accounts and watchlisting of the relevant BVNs.
However, Justice Aluko refused the bank’s fourth request for immediate reversal of the salvaged funds, holding that granting such relief at the interlocutory stage would amount to making a final order.
The judge adjourned the case until August 31, 2026, for further proceedings and directed Access Bank’s lawyer to file an undertaking as to damages should it later be established that the interim orders ought not to have been granted.
The ruling provides Access Bank with temporary legal protection to preserve the allegedly stolen funds while investigations and recovery efforts continue over the N1.34bn traced to the affected customers’ accounts.
