Fearing the money could be moved out before recovery, the bank sought urgent preservative orders from the court.
Orders Granted By The Court
Justice Aluko granted 3 of the 4 reliefs sought:
PND Order:
Mandating Access Bank Plc and 71 respondents to place Post-No-Debit on all accounts and BVNs listed in Exhibit Access 1 & 2, and any other accounts that benefitted from the unauthorized funds.
Affidavit of Disclosure: Directing the 71 banks to file and serve affidavits stating the amounts salvaged in the affected accounts.
BVN Watchlist: Mandating the banks to watchlist the BVNs of affected accounts until the total sum of ₦1,340,425,393 is fully recovered.
Relief Denied
The judge, however, declined the fourth request to immediately reverse the salvaged funds to Access Bank’s account 0703060877.
Justice Aluko held that reversing the funds at this stage would amount to granting a final relief before hearing the substantive application.
The case was adjourned to August 31, 2026 for the court to consider Access Bank’s application for recovery and reversal.
Customers React
The development has sparked panic among Access Bank customers, with many taking to social media to demand clarity on how their funds were moved and what safeguards are in place on the SME App.
Access Bank is yet to issue a public statement to customers on compensation or additional security measures.