Wema Bank reports N7.187 billion fraud in 2025, staff indicted

Wema Bank Plc recorded fraud attempts in its system to the tune of N7.187 billion in 2025, with findings indicating that some of the breaches were linked to insiders.

An analysis of the bank’s 2025 financial statements shows that fraudsters eventually succeeded in stealing N847.599 million. Of this amount, 14 percent was attributed to internal actors, while 86 percent was linked to external perpetrators.

The largest impact came from a category described as “operations and others,” which includes account management, transaction processing, back-office operations, and customer service support. Fraudsters targeted N6.928 billion through this channel and succeeded in stealing N817.133 million.

Despite significantly increasing its technology investments, the bank still suffered major fraud losses.

In 2025, Wema Bank’s technology spending rose to N19.042 billion, up from N5.55 billion in 2024—an increase of over threefold. It also spent N491.856 million on digital banking professional fees, compared to N321.393 million the previous year.

A notable case involved a staff member. On November 6, 2025, Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja convicted a Wema Bank employee, Samuel Asiegbu, sentencing him to three years in prison without an option of fine for his role in a N8.56 billion fraud.

He was charged alongside Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman (still at large) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on counts of conspiracy, theft, and unauthorized access to computer systems. The suspects were first arraigned on June 23, 2025, and initially pleaded not guilty.

Despite the fraud recorded, the Bank recorded a strong improvement in performance, with gross earnings growing by 52.79% from

₦432.34 billion in FY 2024 to ₦660.59 billion in FY 2025. Profit before tax rose by 116.42% to ₦221.85 billion from ₦102.51 billion in FY 2024, while profit after tax (PAT) increased by 125.36% to ₦194.46 billion  from ₦86.29 billion recorded in the prior year.

The bank’s total deposits expanded by 30.34% to ₦3,289.53 billion as of FY 2025, up from ₦2,523.82 billion in FY 2024. Total assets stood at ₦5,072.30 billion as of FY  2025, representing a 41.48% increase over the previous year. Loans to customers also grew by  44.68%, closing the year at ₦1,737.93 billion compared to ₦1,201.21 billion in FY 2024.

Mabel Adeteye, head of Brand and Marketing Communications, Wema Bank, did not respond to The Witness inquiries.

Fraud remains a growing concern across Nigeria’s financial system.

According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre, banks lost N3.3 billion to fraud in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 137 percent increase from N1.39 billion in the previous quarter.

The report recorded 12,347 fraud cases in Q1 2025, a 33.8 percent decline from 18,672 cases in Q4 2024. However, the total value involved surged to N22.27 billion, up from N6.5 billion. Banks were able to prevent about N19 billion—85.2 percent of attempted fraud—while actual losses accounted for 14.8 percent.

Digital channels remained the most vulnerable. Computer and web-based platforms accounted for N10.6 billion in attempted fraud, while mobile applications contributed N2.3 billion. Fraud through bank branches also rose significantly, nearing N8 billion, while ATM and POS-related fraud declined.

Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System showed that total digital payment fraud dropped to N25.85 billion in 2025, a 51 percent decline from N52.26 billion in 2024. Over a five-year period, fraud cases also decreased significantly, from 123,918 in 2021 to 67,518 in 2025.