Access Bank has dragged 71 banks before the Federal High Court in Lagos in a bid to recover ₦1,340,425,393 allegedly stolen from customer accounts by suspected hackers.
The bank told the court that the funds were moved without authorisation from accounts belonging to MIB TXN Bullion, Aba Branch; AIICO General Insurance Company Limited; Apogee Engineering Limited; and Sims Nigeria Limited, all domiciled with Access Bank.
According to the bank, the breach was traced to its Access SME App and was discovered upon resumption on August 12, 2026, following what it described as system glitches earlier in the month.
In an ex parte motion marked FHC/LAG/MISC/1168/2026, Access Bank listed the 71 banks as respondents, accusing them of housing accounts that received the diverted funds. The suit was filed under Order 26, Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules 2019, and Sections 6(6)(c) and 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The bank asked the court for a post-no-debit order on all accounts and BVNs linked to the stolen funds, a directive compelling the 71 respondent banks to disclose how much of the money had been salvaged in each account, an order to watchlist the BVNs tied to the beneficiary accounts, and a directive mandating the reversal of the funds to its account pending full recovery.
In an affidavit deposed to by Sodiq Jimoh, a litigation clerk with Country Hill Attorneys & Solicitors, the bank’s counsel, Access Bank said its internal investigation showed the funds were moved from the four accounts and dissipated across accounts held with the bank and the 71 respondent banks. It said it had already notified the respondent banks and asked them to place a post-no-debit hold pending the court’s intervention, warning that failure to secure the accounts could lead to further dissipation of the funds and undermine national economic interest.
Justice Akintayo Aluko, after hearing arguments from the bank’s lawyer, Ifeoma E. Enyinnaya, granted three of the four reliefs sought, ruling that the application was aimed at preserving the funds from further dissipation. He held that the fourth relief — a final order for immediate reversal of the funds — could not be granted at this stage, describing it as premature.
The judge directed Access Bank’s legal team to file an undertaking as to damages, in the event the orders are later found to have been wrongly granted, and adjourned the matter to August 31, 2026, for further proceedings.
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