By Edo, Nigeria— The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced today the conviction and sentencing of Ojo Eghosa Kingsley for fraudulently converting over ₦1.5 billion erroneously credited to his account by First Bank Plc.
The conviction was secured by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on Monday, January 19, 2026, before Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court, sitting in Benin City.
Kingsley was prosecuted on a one-count charge of stealing, after investigations revealed that he unlawfully took possession of the funds while operating as a customer of First Bank and converted the money to personal use between June and November 2025.
The charge stated that the defendant dishonestly converted the sum of ₦1,507,502,182.24, property of First Bank Plc, an offence contrary to Section 387(1) of the Criminal Code Law of Edo State, 2022, and punishable under Section 394 of the same law.
The defendant pleaded guilty when the charge was read, prompting the prosecution counsel, M. S. Dahiru, to urge the court to convict and sentence him accordingly. Defence counsel appealed for leniency, stating that the defendant was remorseful.
In his judgment, Justice Aziegbemhin convicted Kingsley and sentenced him to one year imprisonment, with an option of a ₦5 million fine.
The court further ordered the convict to restitute First Bank Plc with ₦272,252,193.59, being the outstanding balance of the fraudulently obtained funds, within a stipulated period.
The EFCC disclosed that during investigation, a total of ₦802,420,000 was recovered from bank accounts linked to the defendant, his mother, and his sister, while over ₦300 million was recovered from the defendant’s account through a transfer reversal by the bank.
The recovered funds were handed over to First Bank Plc on January 12, 2026, by the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Benin Zonal Directorate, Deputy Commander of the EFCC, DCE Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad.
Aside from the conviction and restitution order, the defendant also undertook in writing to be of good behaviour going forward.
