Justice A. Isiaka of the Kaduna State High Court has convicted and sentenced one Nureedeen Siraj to two years imprisonment for fraudulently diverting N3.4 million from Zenith Bank Plc using a rogue code.
The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Siraj on a one-count charge bordering on theft.
The charge reads:
“That you, Nureedeen Siraj ‘M’ sometime in December, 2022 in Kaduna State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly took out of possession of Zenith Bank Plc in the sum of N3,400,000.00 (Three Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) only into your Zenith Bank Plc accounts without the consent of Zenith Bank Plc, thereby committed Theft, an offence contrary to Section 270(1) of the Penal Code Law, 2017 of Kaduna State and punishable under Section 271 of the same Law.”
Upon the charge being read to him, Siraj pleaded “guilty.” The prosecution counsel, Y.J. Matiyak, then urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly. The defence counsel, Fatima Ustaz, did not oppose the application.
Justice Isiaka sentenced Siraj to two years imprisonment or an option of a N300,000 fine. In addition, he was ordered to fully restitute the stolen N3.4 million to the victim.
Siraj’s journey to conviction began when the EFCC arrested him following credible intelligence. Investigations revealed that he used a rogue code to hack into Zenith Bank’s portal and fraudulently credited his own account with the sum of N3.4 million.
