The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of Ojo Eghosa Kingsley for stealing over N1.5 billion belonging to First Bank Plc.
In a statement issued on Monday, January 19, 2026, the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, said Kingsley was convicted by Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court, sitting in Benin City.
According to Oyewale, Kingsley was prosecuted on a one-count charge bordering on stealing after he fraudulently took possession of funds that were erroneously credited to his First Bank account.
“The convict, while being a customer of First Bank Plc, fraudulently took possession of over N1.5 billion mistakenly credited to his account by the bank,” Oyewale said.
The charge read in court stated: “That you, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, sometime between June 2025 and November 2025, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did steal the aggregate sum of N1,507,502,182.24, property of First Bank Plc, by fraudulently converting the said sum to your own use, thereby committing 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.”
Kingsley pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him. Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, M. S. Dahiru, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
However, counsel to the defendant appealed to the court for leniency, stating that Kingsley had shown remorse over his actions and pleaded that justice be tempered with mercy.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aziegbemhin convicted Kingsley and sentenced him to one year imprisonment or the option of a N5 million fine.
The court further ordered the convict to restitute First Bank Plc with the sum of N272,252,193.59, being the outstanding balance from the N1.5 billion, within a stipulated period.
Oyewale disclosed that during investigations, the EFCC recovered N802,420,000 from various bank accounts linked to the defendant, his mother and his sister. The recovered sum was handed over to First Bank Plc by the Acting Zonal Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate, Deputy Commander of the EFCC, DCE Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, on Monday, January 12, 2026.
He added that the bank had also recovered over N300 million from the defendant’s account through transfer reversal.
“Besides the conviction, sentence and restitution order, the defendant also undertook in writing to be of good behaviour going forward,” Oyewale said.
