A Federal High Court in Lagos has remanded a 47-year-old man, Ugochukwu Eze, popularly known as “Amazon,” over allegations that he hacked into the computer system of SunTrust Bank Plc and diverted more than N800 million.
Eze was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Friday Ogazi by operatives of the Department of State Services.
According to the DSS, Eze and other suspects still at large allegedly conspired between 2023 and 2026 to unlawfully interfere with the bank’s computer system, resulting in the diversion of funds belonging to SunTrust Bank.
The prosecution also accused Eze of concealing and transferring funds linked to cyberattacks on financial institutions and unlawfully accessing critical national financial information infrastructure.
The alleged offences were brought under provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Eze pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following his plea, DSS counsel, M. Bajela, asked the court to remand the defendant and schedule the case for trial. However, Eze’s lawyer, E. Afrogha, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed.
The defence counsel also told the court that Eze had spent more than a month in DSS custody.
Bajela said the prosecution had not yet been served with the bail application but informed the court that its witnesses were ready to proceed.
After hearing both sides, Justice Ogazi adjourned the case until August 24 for the hearing of the bail application.
The judge ordered that Eze be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the hearing and determination of his bail request.
One of the charges alleged that Eze, between 2023 and 2026 in Lagos and other locations within the court’s jurisdiction, unlawfully interfered with SunTrust Bank’s computer system and fraudulently diverted more than N800 million belonging to the bank.
The alleged offence is punishable under Section 8 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.