Ecobank Staff Sentenced to One Year in Prison for N2.4M Cybercrime

• An employee of Ecobank Nigeria Plc has been imprisoned.

• Ecobank staff member Solomon Stephen Ufayo has been sentenced to one year in prison for cybercrime worth N2,404,000.

An employee of Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Solomon Stephen Ufayo, has been sentenced to one year imprisonment by Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for his involvement in a N2.4 million cybercrime case.

Ufayo, who served as a Relief Teller at the bank, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 16, 2025, on a one-count charge of cybercrime. The charge stated that between March 10 and 28, 2025, Ufayo impersonated a customer, Ogunfodunrin Omowunmi Ajoke, and conducted fraudulent deposit and withdrawal transactions on her Ecobank account.

The EFCC alleged that he posted fake deposit and withdrawal slips on the account, ultimately transferring N2,404,000 into his personal Opay account without the account holder’s consent.

The charge stated: “That you, Solomon Stephen Ufayo, between the 10th to the 28th day of March, 2025, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, while working for Ecobank Nigeria Limited as a Relief Teller, fraudulently represented yourself as Ogunfodunrin Omowunmi Ajoke, by posting false Deposit and Withdrawal Tellers on her Ecobank account number 2801086259 with intent to gain advantage for yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(i) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the same Act.”

Upon arraignment, Ufayo pleaded guilty to the charge. EFCC operative David Ngale Gajere testified that the defendant admitted to the crime during interrogation and later issued a bank draft for full restitution.

During sentencing, Ufayo pleaded for leniency, citing financial hardship and his wife’s pregnancy as his motivation. He also expressed remorse and claimed he had learned his lesson.

Justice Bogoro sentenced him to one year imprisonment, with an option of a N500,000 fine, and ordered that he perform two weeks of community service.