The Department of State Services (DSS) has foiled a plan by a group of fraudsters to steal N4.5 billion from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by hacking the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

This was contained in a statement issued by Tony Opuiyo, an official of the service, revealing that the gang worked in collaboration with the help of Uwem Udo Ekpo, a Chief Program Analyst in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation

“The gang was led by one Sunny Okoh, a hacker who worked in collaboration with the trio of Uwem Udo Ekpo, a chief program analyst in the OAGF, Maxwell Ekene, a retired security operative and Dozie Egwu, based in Malaysia and who is now at large,” Opuiyo said.

“The suspected fraudsters intended to use a software they had sourced and codes released to them by Ekpo to hack government accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and defraud the government of this huge sum.

“It is instructive to note that a credibility problem would have arisen over the TSA policy if these hackers had succeeded in their plan and thus lend credence to the critics of the policy that it ought not to have been introduced and implemented.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the suspects have been handed over to the EFCC for further investigations and prosecution.”