Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

PremiumTrust Bank recently thwarted an attempted cyberattack aimed at gaining unauthorized access to its database. The bank’s internal IT team quickly detected and neutralized the breach, preventing any loss of customer data or funds. Following the incident, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested five suspects connected to the hacking conspiracy and commenced prosecution.

After a recent attempted hack on its database and infrastructure, PremiumTrust Bank has released an official statement on the incident.

Premium Trust Bank is a Nigerian commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to offer financial services in the country.

The official statement from PremiumTrust Bank explained that the incident involved an attempt to gain unauthorised access to its database, but the attempt was swiftly detected and completely neutralized by the internal IT surveillance team.

The internal teams used advanced security protocols to immediately neutralize the hack attempt and report it to the law enforcement authorities.

According to the statement from the bank, the suspects have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and are now facing prosecution.

PremiumTrust Bank reassured its customers and stakeholders that its cybersecurity system showed resilience in the incident, preventing the hackers from getting through to the system.

Its statement read;

“The incident clearly validates the effectiveness, vigilance, and sophistication of PremiumTrust Bank’s cybersecurity framework. It further proves that our system functions precisely as intended, detecting, blocking, and escalating threats without compromising customer trust or data.

“The individuals now facing trial at the Federal High Court, Lagos, were prevented from executing their malicious plan.”

The bank thanked the EFCC for responding swiftly and professionally, and also tracking down the syndicate and collaborators, the PUNCH reports.

PremiumTrust Bank promised that it would continue to invest in innovative cybersecurity solutions, AI-driven threat intelligence, and staff cybersecurity training to protect customers’ data and deposits using a world-class multi-layered security infrastructure.

Cyberattacks have become a recurring threat in recent times, and even MTN suffered a major breach of its infrastructure some months ago.

Legit.ng reported that the EFCC had arraigned five suspects before a Federal High Court in connection with a purported conspiracy to breach PremiumTrust Bank's server and embezzle customer funds.

The suspects include two bankers and employees of PremiumTrust Bank, Kehinde Odeyemi and Matthew Adeniyi Damilola, and three others, Samson Latshin Dakup, Bolaji Omotosho Yinka, and Sunday Badeniyi Okunola.

According to the commission, between April and May 2025, the defendants planned to alter the bank's server access codes and domain credentials to obtain unauthorized access to its database.

In related news, another Nigerian bank, Hope Payment Service Bank, lost N10 billion to a cyberattack in July 2024.

Legit.ng reported that a federal high court sitting in Abuja ordered the freezing of 818 bank accounts suspected to have received proceeds of the crime.

According to the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1358/2024, filed against James Akagwu Isaac, Akwubo Gosent, and others, including several banks, the IGP’s legal team said that the accounts via which the defendants were alleged to have received the crime proceeds were under investigation, hence the freeze.

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Source: Legit.ng