EFCC Arraigns Two Suspects Over Alleged Illegal Supply of Bank Access Codes in Lagos

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Gideon Bakpa Aghogho and Oscar Ebere Chukwuebuka before Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, for alleged unlawful supply of bank access credentials.
 

The defendants were arraigned alongside one Scott, who is currently at large, on an eight-count charge bordering on the unlawful supply of access credentials to a bank database.
 

The offences are contrary to Sections 27 and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
 

One of the counts reads: “That you, GIDEON BAKPA AGHOGHO, OSCAR EBERE CHUKWUEBUKA, along with an individual identified as SCOTT (at large), conspired unlawfully between 24th and 26th July 2026 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by supplying for use the access code of GIDEON BAKPA AGHOGHO to the FCMB system using the local Administrative Credential (ITSD), which is capable of allowing access to the FCMB Virtual Center Platform, with the intention of committing an offence, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 27 and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and punishable under Section 28(2) of the same Act.”
 

Another count alleged that Aghogho, between April and May 2025 in Lagos, knowingly and without authority disclosed access credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain credentials, to gain access to FCMB’s database in exchange for $15,000.

The first defendant, Aghogho, pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him, while the second defendant, Chukwuebuka, pleaded guilty when the charges were read to him in open court.
 

Following the first defendant’s not-guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari, asked the court for a date to commence trial and prayed that he be remanded in a correctional facility pending the commencement of proceedings.

In respect of the second defendant, who pleaded guilty, the prosecution sought to review the facts of the case against him, a standard procedure in cases where a defendant admits to the charges filed against them.
 

Justice Ogazi subsequently adjourned the matter until August 27, 2026, for a review of the facts and other proceedings connected to the case. The judge also ordered that both defendants be remanded at a correctional centre pending the next adjourned date.

With the case now adjourned to August 27, 2026, attention turns to how the review of facts concerning the second defendant’s guilty plea will unfold, as well as the commencement of trial proceedings against the first defendant, who maintains his not-guilty plea. The fate of the third suspect, Scott, who remains at large, is also expected to feature in subsequent updates from the EFCC as investigations and the search for him continue.