By Bridget Oyakhire
A First Bank PLC customer, Eghosa Kingsley, has opted to go to prison than to refund the sum of N1.5 billion naira mistakenly credited into his own bank account.
The convict was arrested by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over his conduct.
The EFCC later charged him before Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court on Jan. 19, and secured his conviction.
He was prosecuted on one-count charge bordering on stealing while being a customer of First Bank and fraudulently took possession of the money which was 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 Honourable Court, did steal the aggregate sum of N1,507,502,182.24 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Seven Million, Five Hundred and Two Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty Two Naira, Twenty Four Kobo), 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”.
He pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.
This prompted the prosecution counsel, M. S. Dahiru, to pray the Court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
However, the counsel to the defendant pleaded with the Court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the defendant had become remorseful for his action.
Justice Aziegbemhin convicted and sentenced him to one year imprisonment or a fine of N5 million.
The Court also ordered the convict to restitute First Bank Plc with the sum N272, 252,193,59 (Two Hundred and Seventy Two Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety Three Naira, Fifty Nine Kobo) 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,
The Deputy Commander of the EFCC, Sa’ad Hanafi, said that more than three hundred million naira was recovered from the convict’s account by the bank through transfer reversals.
Aside the restitution, conviction and sentence, the convict also made an undertaking in writing to be of good behaviour in future if he fulfills the conditions and is released from prison custody
