Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is grappling with the fallout of a major internal breach that led to the unauthorized withdrawal of ₦9.3 billion from customer accounts on March 23, 2025.
Court filings reveal that the funds were diverted across 54 financial institutions through a sophisticated fraud operation that exploited a critical system vulnerability.
The illicit transactions were executed in small amounts to evade immediate detection and make it difficult to trace and recover the stolen money.
Oluwasegun Falola, Head of E-Fraud Investigations at Union Bank, disclosed in a sworn affidavit that the fraudsters deliberately moved the funds in trickles across multiple accounts.
This strategy created challenges in identifying the full extent of the breach and recovering the diverted funds.
In response, Union Bank initiated legal proceedings under suit number FHC/L/CS/629/2025 at the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking urgent intervention to block further movements of the stolen funds. During the hearing held on April 2, 2025, the bank’s legal counsel A.
Adedoyin Adeniyi, informed Justice Deinde Dipeolu that the stolen funds were still being transferred, suggesting an active laundering effort by the perpetrators.
The court granted Union Bank’s application for a Post No Debit order freezing all accounts suspected to be linked to the fraud pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
The incident has renewed scrutiny on Union Bank’s internal control systems, particularly as it follows a recent history of governance challenges.
In early 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria dissolved the bank’s former board and executive management citing lapses in corporate governance.
Yetunde Oni, the current Managing Director, now faces heightened pressure to reassure customers and regulators of the bank’s operational integrity amid mounting concerns over cybersecurity resilience.
Union Bank has not yet issued a detailed public statement regarding the breach or outlined the full recovery plan as of press time.
However, stakeholders are closely monitoring the situation as the bank moves to mitigate reputational and financial risks arising from the breach.
The ₦9.3 billion fraud underscores the increasing sophistication of cyber threats facing Nigerian banks and highlights the critical need for enhanced digital security protocols across the financial sector.
