EFCC Arraigns Man for Hacking Microfinance Bank to Move N700m

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

One Mr Osaretin Osagiede has been brought before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, over an alleged N700 million fraud.

The suspect was arraigned on Friday, September 4, 2026, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a three-count charge bordering on unauthorised access to computer material and receiving stolen property to the tune of N700 million.

At the hearing, Justice Ogunjobi adjourned the matter to September 16, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and ordered him to be remanded in a correctional facility.

This was after he pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him, and prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application.

“That you Osaretin Osagiede and Zacharia Lorshe (at large), between March, 2025 and January 2026, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, intentionally caused the Ravenpay user accounts’ two-factor authentication (2FA) method to be bypassed, with the intent to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s data and committed an offence contrary to Section 387 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011,” one of the charges read.

“That you Osaretin Osagiede and Zacharia Lorshe (at large), between March 2025 and January 2026 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, dishonestly received the stolen sum of N700 million, property of Best Start Microfinance Bank, whilst having reason to believe the same to be stolen property and committed an offence contrary to Section 411 and 328(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011,” another read.