An Edo state high court in Benin city on Monday, January 19, sentenced a First Bank customer, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, to one year imprisonment over ₦1.5 billion theft.
The conviction, secured by the Benin zonal directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), followed Kingsley’s guilty plea to a one-count charge of stealing.
He was charged with stealing after he failed to return ₦1.5 billion erroneously credited to his account by the bank between June and November 2025.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel M. S. Dahiru asked the court to convict Kingsley and sentence him accordingly, while the defence counsel requested leniency, citing the defendant’s remorse.
Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin sentenced Kingsley to one year imprisonment or the option of a ₦5 million fine.
The court also ordered him to repay ₦272 million to First Bank, within a stipulated period, representing the outstanding balance of the stolen amount.
Earlier, the EFCC had retrieved ₦802.4 million from accounts linked to Kingsley, his mother, and his sister.
The recovered sum was handed over to First Bank on Monday, January 12, by the Benin acting zonal director of the EFCC, Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad.
Additionally, over ₦300 million was returned to the bank through direct reversal from Kingsley’s account.
As part of the court order, Kingsley also signed a written undertaking to maintain good behaviour in the future.
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