Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of N1,292,798,746.81 to the Federal Government of Nigeria, in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
The funds were fraudulently withdrawn by certain individuals following a system glitch experienced by Sterling Bank.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) launched an investigation after receiving a petition from Sterling Bank, which alleged the theft of approximately N2.5 billion.
The investigation led to the tracing of N1.2 billion to various accounts, including: M Sharif Inter-Trading and Marketing Company Ltd – N900,000,000; Mustapha Abubakar – N255,872,842.84; Mustapha Sharif Abubakar – N12,195,093; Mustapha Sharif Abubakar (Jaiz Bank) – N41,119,917.13; Abubakar Mustapha Sharif – N19,069,567.73 and Mustapha Sharif Abubakar (Sterling Imal) – N30,850,158.12.
The final forfeiture followed a motion filed on January 8, 2025, by the EFCC through its counsel, Hannatu U. KofarNaisa.
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on March 12, 2025, and directed that it be published in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
KofarNaisa informed the court that the interim order was duly published in The Punch newspaper on March 24, 2025, and that no objections had been raised.
She also argued that the funds were suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
After reviewing the application and supporting documents, Justice Dipeolu ruled: “Having gone through the motion and attachments, I find the application meritorious and same is accordingly granted.”
The court then issued a final forfeiture order of the N1.2 billion in favour of the Federal Government for the benefit of Sterling Bank Plc.
