FirstBank customer, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, has been convicted by an Edo State High Court after unlawfully spending ₦1.5 billion mistakenly credited to his account by the bank.
The incident, which unfolded between June and November 2025, began when First Bank erroneously credited Kingsley’s account with the huge sum. Rather than alerting the bank or returning the funds, he reportedly diverted the money for personal use.
Kingsley was later arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Benin City and arraigned on January 19, 2026. He was charged with theft and fraud under the Edo State Criminal Law (2022), ZagaZola Makama has reported.
At the hearing, Kingsley pleaded guilty immediately after the charges were read to him. His lawyer appealed to the court for leniency, pointing to his client’s expression of remorse.
After considering the case, the court sentenced Kingsley to one year imprisonment, with an option of a ₦5 million fine. The court also ordered him to refund the outstanding balance of ₦272,252,193.59 to First Bank.
Before the judgment, the EFCC had already recovered ₦802,420,000 from Kingsley’s account as well as accounts belonging to his mother and sister. In addition, First Bank successfully reversed transactions amounting to over ₦300 million.
In a dramatic twist during the proceedings, Kingsley told the court that he would rather serve a prison sentence than refund the remaining ₦272 million.
By that declaration, he openly chose incarceration over repaying the outstanding funds to the bank.
