Chris Ihebuzo: Court adjourns trial of indicted Access Bank hacker

Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, has adjourned the trial of Chris Ihebuzo, who faces multiple counts.

Ihebuzo was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in September 2020.

The charges are stealing, demanding property by written threat, attempt to commit a felony, unauthorised access to computer material, unauthorised modification of computer material, and unauthorised access with intent to commit.

In a video, Ihebuzo, a.k.a. “Access Bank hacker”, bragged about gaining access into the database and extracting data of over 2,000 customers, including Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).

The EFCC said in August 2020, with intent to extort money, the defendant sent an electronic mail to the bank management, demanding money.

The financial institution petitioned the agency and after an investigation, a seven-count charge was drafted.

Prosecution counsel, Franklin Ofoma, told the court that several documents, HP laptop, chips and discs were recovered from Ihebuzo.

Justice Abike-Fadipe admitted them as Exhibit P7 to P15 and adjourned trial till February 18 and March 11, 2022.