Abuja Court Lifts Freezes on Accounts Tied to N21 Billion Flutterwave Glitch
A Nigerian federal court has overturned police freezing orders on four accounts linked to a major 2023 fintech glitch, highlighting growing judicial scrutiny over procedural overreach in the country's digital payments sector.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has lifted freezing orders on four bank accounts connected to an alleged 21 billion naira system glitch at Flutterwave in 2023. Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the police suppressed material facts when initially seeking the ex parte freeze.
The court found that judicial discretion cannot stand on a materially incomplete factual foundation. Justice Nwite noted the police failed to disclose an earlier April 2026 order by Justice Liman that had already discharged restrictions on the applicants' accounts.
Lawyers for the defendants argued the police engaged in forum shopping and a grave abuse of judicial process by procuring substantially similar restrictions without addressing the prior discharge. The police had previously maintained the respondents received large volumes of money stemming from the platform incident.
The underlying dispute traces back to October 12 and 13, 2023, when a system glitch on the Flutterwave point-of-sale platform resulted in 9,633 erroneous transactions. Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System data indicated Flutterwave’s total exposure reached 21.2 billion naira, though the company worked with banks to preserve 7.2 billion naira.
This ruling underscores the legal complexities facing Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech ecosystem as it battles systemic vulnerabilities. Digital payment fraud has become a costly challenge for both startups and established institutions across the region.
For context, Nigerian banks lost 2.09 billion naira to fraud in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, with mobile channels serving as the primary vector for major thefts. In 2022, MTN lost 10.5 billion naira to cybercriminals, while a 2025 Access Bank system glitch facilitated a 5 billion naira fraud.
Judicial and regulatory responses to these vulnerabilities remain highly active. In August 2026, the same court ordered 12 commercial banks and six fintech platforms to freeze approximately 69 accounts linked to unauthorized credit transactions.
As litigation over point-of-sale exploits continues, including recent disputes involving Moniepoint and Providus Bank over alleged duplicate payments, financial institutions face mounting pressure. They must balance aggressive fraud recovery with strict adherence to judicial due process.
