Man jailed for N1.5 billion fraud in Edo

By Christopher Oji

The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),yesterday,  secured the conviction and sentence of Ojo Eghosa Kingsley before Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of Edo State High Court, Benin City.

Kingsley was prosecuted by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC,  on one-count charge bordering on stealing by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Commission. The convict,  while being a customer of First Bank fraudulently took possession of  over N1.5 billion erroneously credited to his account by the bank.

The charge against him reads: ‘That you Ojo Eghosa Kingsley (M), sometime between June, 2025 to November, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this honorable 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 contrary to Section 387(1) of Criminal Code Law of Edo State Law, 2022 and punishable under Section 394 of the same Law.’

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, M. S. Dahiru to pray the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

However, counsel to the defendant pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that the defendant had become remorseful for his action.

Justice Aziegbemhin convicted and sentenced Ojo Eghosa Kingsley to one year imprisonment or a fine of N5 million.

The court ordered the convict to restitute First Bank Plc with the sum N272, 252,193,59 within a stipulated period of time being the balance of the N1.5 billion.

The EFCC had during investigation recovered the sum of N802,420,000 from various bank accounts traced to the defendant,  his mother and sister which was handed over to the bank by the Ag Zonal Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate,  Deputy Commander of the EFCC, DCE Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad  yesterday, while over #300 million was recovered from the defendant account by the bank through transfer reversal.   Aside the restitution, conviction and sentence, the defendant undertook in writing to be of good behaviour going forward.