By 
By Osasómé C.O
Hope Payment Service Bank (Hope PSB) Limited has filed an application with the Federal High Court in Lagos. It is seeking to recover approximately N6.56 billion stolen by cybercriminals. Hope PSB’s court filing highlights the escalating threat of cyberattacks in the country’s financial sector. The bank tout itself as Nigeria’s “premier digital-first bank.”
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This issue reflects a global cybersecurity challenge. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported earlier this year that banks worldwide suffered a loss of $2.5 billion over the past four years due to cyberattacks. Its 2024 Global Financial Stability Report also reveals similar result. Global financial institutions have lost an estimated $12 billion to cybercrime in the last two decades.
Hope PSB urging swift court intervention
Hope PSB, which named 30 Nigerian banks as defendants, is urging swift court intervention to prevent the stolen funds from being fully dissipated. The bank’s application is backed by a 17-paragraph affidavit filed by Abiodun Fade, Chief Finance Officer of Hope PSB. According to the affidavit, on July 15, 2024, the bank experienced unauthorised access to its platform. The illegal access resulted in fraudulent transfers from customer accounts to unknown beneficiaries.
The bank notified authorities on July 18 and immediately approached the defendant banks to recover the stolen funds. However, the banks have reportedly refused to act without a court order. This has prompted Hope PSB to seek legal action. Fade stressed the urgency of freezing the beneficiaries’ accounts to prevent further dissipation of the stolen funds. He warned that the bank faces significant financial risk if immediate action is not taken.
Nigerian financial institutions face rising cyberattacks
Cyberattacks targeting Nigerian financial institutions have been on the rise. In 2021, Nigerian banks reported financial losses amounting to N193.5 billion ($544 million) due to fraudulent activities, up from N153.4 billion the previous year. A report by the Financial Institutions Training Centre revealed that Nigerian bank customers lost N2.72 billion to fraud in the first half of 2022.
In 2023, cybersecurity firm Check Point Research identified Nigerian banks as some of the top targets for phishing attacks globally, with over 1.3 million phishing attempts detected in the first half of the year. Furthermore, a Mastercard forum addressing fraud and cybersecurity in the financial sector reported a sharp rise in cyber fraud, with Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) losing N10 billion in the second quarter of 2023—an almost 300% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
As cyber threats continue to grow, Hope PSB’s legal action underscores the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures in Nigeria’s financial sector to protect both institutions and customers from further losses.
