ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has returned N802.42 million recovered from a fraud suspect to First Bank Nigeria Plc, after a system error mistakenly credited the funds to the suspect’s account.
In a statement posted on Tuesday via its official X account, the EFCC disclosed that the money was recovered from Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, who is alleged to have unlawfully taken possession of more than N1.3 billion belonging to the bank.
The Commission explained that First Bank had reported that a system glitch resulted in Kingsley’s account being wrongly credited with the funds.
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“The Commission in its investigation discovered that the suspect, upon receipt of the money, transferred a good measure of it to the bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin, and committed part of the money to completion of his building project and the funding of a new flamboyant lifestyle,” the statement said.
After recovering the funds from the identified accounts, the EFCC handed them over to First Bank in the form of bank drafts.
During the handover, the Acting Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Deputy Commander of the EFCC, Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, said the Commission would continue to discharge its statutory responsibilities.
“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,” he added.
Receiving the drafts, the Business Manager of First Bank in Benin, Olalere Sunday Ajayi, praised the EFCC for its prompt action and professionalism.
“We are grateful to the EFCC for handling this matter swiftly and professionally. The Commission is one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable institutions,” Ajayi said.
The EFCC also confirmed that Kingsley and other suspects connected to the case have been arraigned in court on charges of stealing.