The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness made the claim while testifying before Justice Alexander Owoeye in the ongoing trial of Odeyemi and Matthew Adeniyi Damilola, both employees of Premium Trust Bank.
The duo are being tried by the EFCC alongside three others: Samson Dakup, Bolaji Yinka, and Sunday Okunola on a seven-count charge of conspiracy to steal.
The anti-graft agency had alleged that the defendants conspired between April and May 2025 to manipulate Premium Trust Bank’s server and domain credentials to access the bank’s database and steal funds.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.
While being led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, the banker alleged, “She approached me during office hours and suggested we could make some money through a ‘side gig. She then asked for a generic IP address used within the IT department.”
Ajayi also told the judge that he informed her that no such generic IP existed and that he only had a personal IP address assigned for daily use.
The witness further testified that despite his refusal, Odeyemi allegedly offered him $5,000 in cash and promised delivery from the bank’s head office that evening.
He claimed that she raised the offer to $7,000 when he declined again.
“I told her I wasn’t interested. She then asked me to keep the conversation secret and threatened to resign if I reported it,” Ajayi recounted in court.
He stated that he immediately attempted to report the incident to his supervisor, Kenneth Nwaeze and that when Nwaeze was unavailable, he escalated the matter to Idriss Adegoke and eventually to the bank’s Head of IT, Mike Koledoye.
According to Ajayi, Koledoye organised a meeting on May 6, 2023, with all parties involved, listened to their accounts, and directed that appropriate security measures be implemented.
The witness also stated that a week later, on May 13, he and two other staff members were invited by the EFCC to provide formal statements.
He claimed, “The requested code grants access to customer data and core banking operations. Disclosing it would pose serious cybersecurity risks, and sharing such information would violate the bank’s data protection policy.
“My department is the backbone of the bank; we store all transaction data. A breach could lead to cyber attacks or loss of customer trust,” he added.
When asked why he chose to report the matter despite being urged to remain silent, Ajayi stated, “Given past incidents, the bank mandates us to report any suspicious behaviour immediately. It could have been a trap or an integrity test.”
The prosecution then sought to tender Ajayi’s written statement as evidence.
Although the defence counsel objected, citing illegibility, Justice Owoeye admitted the document, stating that the issues raised were matters for cross-examination and not sufficient to render the document inadmissible
The matter was adjourned for further hearing until July 18, 2025.
