HE RECEIVED ₦1.5 BILLION BY MISTAKE — THEN SPENDING IT TURNED INTO A LEGAL NIGHTMARE
Imagine checking your bank account and suddenly seeing more than ₦1.5 billion — money you never expected and never earned.
That is what happened to Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, a First Bank customer in Benin City, Nigeria. Between June and November 2025, more than ₦1.5 billion was mistakenly credited to his account. According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, instead of reporting the error, Kingsley converted part of the money for personal use.
The situation eventually came to the attention of Nigeria’s EFCC.
During the investigation, authorities recovered ₦802.42 million from accounts linked to Kingsley, his mother and his sister. First Bank also recovered more than ₦300 million through transaction reversals. Even after those recoveries, more than ₦272 million remained outstanding.
On January 19, 2026, Kingsley pleaded guilty to the charge before the Edo State High Court in Benin City.
The court sentenced him to one year in prison, with an option of a ₦5 million fine, and ordered him to repay First Bank ₦272,252,193.59.
There is, however, an important detail that has been misreported online. Some posts claimed Kingsley specifically chose prison rather than repaying the remaining money. A fact-check found that this claim was misleading. Official information said he pleaded guilty, expressed remorse through his defense, and later signed an undertaking to maintain good behavior; the court separately ordered resтιтution.
What began as an unexpected bank error ultimately became a costly legal case.
The lesson is simple: money appearing unexpectedly in a bank account does not automatically make it yours. If a financial insтιтution makes an error, spending those funds can have serious consequences.
Source: TheStar – Court jails man over ₦1.5bn fraud
