A First Bank customer, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, has opted to spend one year in prison than return the balance of N1.5 billion mistakenly sent to his account by First bank than return the balance of the money.
After Kingsley was mistakenly credited by the bank, he diverted the fund for personal use between June and November 2025, instead of notifying the bank.
He was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Benin City, then charged to court on 19 January 2026.
The suspect was subsequently arraigned before the Edo State High Court, where he was charged with theft and fraud under the Edo State Criminal Law (2022).
Upon reading of the charges, he pleaded guilty.
His counsel pleaded for leniency, citing that his client was remorseful.
The court pronounced a one year imprisonment or an option of a ₦5 million fine and an order to refund the outstanding balance of ₦272,252,193.59 to First Bank.
Prior to the judgment, the EFCC had recovered ₦802,420,000 from Kingsley’s account, as well as from the accounts of his mother and sister, while the bank successfully reversed transactions totaling over ₦300 million.
In a dramatic turn of events, Kingsley informed the court that he preferred serving a prison sentence to refunding the remaining amount.
In effect, he openly chose incarceration over the repayment of ₦272 million.
