A commercial bank customer in Benin City, Edo State, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, has been convicted for refusing to return N1.5 billion mistakenly credited to his account, the Edo State High Court has ruled.
Kingsley, arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of stealing and fraudulent conversion. Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin sentenced him to one year imprisonment or an alternative N5 million fine.
The court also ordered Kingsley to refund N272.25 million, representing the outstanding balance of the erroneously credited funds. EFCC had earlier recovered over N1.1 billion from his accounts and those of his relatives.
The charge against Kingsley read: “That you Ojo Eghosa Kingsley (m) sometime between June 2025 and November 2025 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did steal the aggregate sum of N1,507,502,182.24, property of First Bank Plc by fraudulently converting the said sum to your own use, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 387(1) of Criminal Law of Edo State 2022 and punishable under Section 394 of the same Law.”
Upon hearing the charge, Kingsley pleaded guilty, prompting the prosecution counsel, M. S. Dahiru, to ask the court to convict and sentence him accordingly. His lawyer urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting Kingsley’s remorse.
During the EFCC investigation, N802,420,000 was recovered from various accounts linked to Kingsley, his mother, and his sister, and returned to First Bank Plc by the acting zonal director of the Benin Zonal Directorate. Kingsley signed an undertaking to maintain good behavior after fulfilling the court’s orders.
