The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over the sum of N802,420,000 to First Bank of Nigeria Plc, following the recovery of funds unlawfully taken from the bank by one of its customers.
The handover took place on Monday, January 12, 2026, after investigations revealed that the money was part of over N1.3 billion erroneously credited to the account of Ojo Eghosa Kingsley due to a system glitch, as described by the bank.
According to the EFCC, First Bank had petitioned the Commission, alleging that the suspect took advantage of the error to access and divert the funds unlawfully. Investigations showed that Kingsley transferred substantial portions of the money into the bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin. The EFCC further disclosed that part of the funds was used to complete a personal building project and to finance what it described as a new flamboyant lifestyle.
Following the tracing and recovery of the funds from the identified accounts, the EFCC returned the recovered sum to First Bank in bank drafts.
Speaking during the handover, the Acting Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Deputy Commander of the EFCC (DCE) Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, said the Commission would continue to carry out its mandate in the interest of society.
“The EFCC Establishment Act empowers us to trace and recover proceeds of crime and restitute the victim. In this case, First Bank was the victim, and that is exactly what we have done,” Sa’ad said.
“We will continue to discharge our duties to ensure that fraudsters do not benefit from fraud and that economic and financial crimes are nipped in the bud.”
Receiving the drafts on behalf of the bank, Olalere Sunday Ajayi, Business Manager, First Bank Benin, commended the EFCC for its swift and professional handling of the case.
Ajayi described the EFCC as “one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable institutions” and expressed the bank’s gratitude to the Commission for recovering the funds.
The EFCC confirmed that Kingsley and other suspects connected to the case have been charged in court for stealing.
