Access Bank has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking orders to freeze accounts and recover approximately ₦1.34 billion allegedly transferred without authorisation from customer accounts. The bank says the funds were moved through its Access SME App.
The case involves multiple financial institutions that received portions of the money.
The Drivers of This Activity
Access Bank stated that it detected the fraud after resuming operations on 12 August 2026. Internal checks showed that a total of ₦1,340,425,393 was transferred from four accounts: MIB TXN Bullion (Aba Branch), AIICO General Insurance Company Limited, Apogee Engineering Limited and Sims Nigeria Limited.
The bank filed an ex-parte application listing 71 banks, microfinance banks and fintechs as respondents. It is asking the court to place post-no-debit restrictions on the beneficiary accounts, watchlist the relevant Bank Verification Numbers, prevent further movement of the funds and order the reversal of any recovered sums back to Access Bank.
Court documents indicate the unauthorised transfers were executed via the Access SME internet banking application. The Federal High Court has already issued interim orders directing the listed institutions to freeze the affected accounts pending further proceedings.
Impact and Broader Context
The rapid court action aims to stop dissipation of the funds and improve the chances of recovery for the affected customers and the bank. Freezing orders across dozens of institutions demonstrate the scale of the subsequent layering of the proceeds.
The incident adds to ongoing concerns about cybersecurity risks in digital banking channels in Nigeria. Banks and regulators continue to emphasise stronger authentication, real-time monitoring and faster inter-bank cooperation when large unauthorised transfers occur.
Further court hearings will determine the duration of the freezes and the ultimate recovery outcome. Access Bank and the affected parties are expected to pursue full restitution through the legal process.
Source: Sahara Reporters; Naija News
Federal High Court, Lagos filings and Access Bank ex-parte application