Man jailed for hacking Zenith Bank portal, stealing N3.4m

A man identified as Nureedeen Siraj has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to hacking into the portal of Zenith Bank and stealing N3.4 million.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Siraj was arrested following credible intelligence that he deployed a rogue code to breach Zenith Bank’s portal.

He then credited his own bank account with the sum of N3,400,000.00.

Siraj was subsequently arraigned before Justice A. Isiaka of the Kaduna State High Court by the EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate on a one-count charge of theft.

The charge read: “That you, Nureedeen Siraj, sometime in December 2022 in Kaduna State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly took out of the possession of Zenith Bank Plc the sum of N3,400,000.00 into your Zenith Bank accounts without the bank’s consent, thereby committing 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.”

Siraj pleaded guilty to the charge. Following this, prosecution counsel Y.J. Matiyak urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly. The defence counsel, Fatima Ustaz, did not object.

Justice Isiaka sentenced Siraj to two years imprisonment with an option of a N300,000 fine. The court also ordered him to restitute the full sum of N3.4 million to Zenith Bank, being the proceeds of the crime.