Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, A customer of First Bank Nigeria Plc has been convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment for stealing over N1.5 billion from the financial institution.
Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court in Benin City delivered the judgment on January 19, 2026, after Kingsley pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Crime
The fraud occurred between June and November 2025 when a system malfunction at First Bank erroneously credited Kingsley’s account with over N1.3 billion. Rather than alerting the bank to the error, Kingsley embarked on a spending spree, transferring substantial sums to his mother, Itohan Ojo, and sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin.
The funds were used to complete a building project and finance an extravagant lifestyle, according to court documents.
The Charge and Sentence
Kingsley faced a single-count charge of stealing N1,507,502,182.24 from First Bank Plc by fraudulently converting the mistakenly credited funds for personal use.
Upon pleading guilty, the court sentenced him to one year in prison with an option of paying a N5 million fine.
Recovery Efforts
The EFCC has recovered a significant portion of the stolen funds. On January 12, 2026, the anti-graft agency handed over N802,420,000 to First Bank. This amount was recovered from various bank accounts belonging to Kingsley, his mother, and his sister.
Additionally, First Bank successfully reversed transfers totaling over N300 million. The court has ordered Kingsley to pay the remaining balance of N272,252,193.59 as restitution to the bank.
The case serves as a stark reminder that benefiting from banking errors, no matter how they occur, constitutes theft under Nigerian law and carries serious legal consequences.
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