Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, under the leadership of Yetunde Oni, is facing a major financial scandal involving a staggering ₦9.3 billion allegedly siphoned from customer accounts following a breach of its core banking system.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
According to The Witness, the incident, which occurred on March 23, 2025, has been described in court filings as “a massive operational failure” that resulted in unauthorized fund transfers to various accounts across 53 financial institutions.
The bank has filed a suit marked FHC/L/CS/629/2025 before the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking urgent court orders to freeze and recover the funds. Union Bank is requesting the court to compel the banks involved to place Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on all suspected recipient accounts and to return any stolen funds still in their possession.
Oluwasegun Falola, Head of the E-Fraud Investigations Department at Union Bank, deposed an affidavit detailing how the funds were illicitly withdrawn from customers’ accounts and distributed in small amounts across several accounts.
“On March 23, 2025, the bank discovered that ₦9.3 billion had been debited from multiple customer accounts and transferred into various accounts maintained with the 1st to 54th respondents,” Falola stated in the affidavit.
He further explained: “The Fraud Desk Department of the bank, in the course of its investigations, discovered that the monies were transferred in trickles into several accounts… and upon further investigation, it was found that the funds were subsequently moved from these primary beneficiary accounts to other accounts also held by the respondents.”
Union Bank has submitted a list of suspected accounts to the concerned banks and said it is actively tracing the money trail through its internal audit and legal units.
During court proceedings on April 2, 2025, the bank’s counsel, A. Adedoyin-Adeniyi, revealed that the funds were still being moved despite ongoing recovery efforts.
“₦9.3 billion has been moved from the account, and they are still moving funds. We now have more people involved in moving the funds,” she told the court.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu, after reviewing the ex parte motion, ruled in favor of the bank, granting its request to restrict the affected accounts.
“Having reviewed the motion ex parte, the application is hereby granted,” Justice Dipeolu said.
This case comes just over a year after the Central Bank of Nigeria dissolved Union Bank’s previous board and management, citing governance failures, and installed a new leadership team.
The development has once again raised alarms over the robustness of Nigeria’s banking infrastructure, with experts warning that outdated security frameworks and insufficient oversight continue to expose banks to large-scale fraud.
As at the time of filing this report, Union Bank had not issued an official statement regarding the incident.
The book, titled The Law of Torts in Nigeria: A Functional Approach, authored by Professor Hagler Sunny Okorie Ph.D and Ikeocha, Nathaniel Ngozi Esq, offers law students, practitioners, and academics a comprehensive guide to understanding and applying tort law in Nigerian courts. Interested buyers can place orders via the following contact numbers: 08028636615, 08037667945, 08032253813, or +234 902 196 2209.
______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
________________________________________________________________________ The Law And Practice Of Redundancy In Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Guide, Authored By A Labour & Employment Law Expert Bimbo Atilola
_______________________________________________________________________
