The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, handed over the sum of N802,420,000 (Eight Hundred and Two Million, Four Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira only) to First Bank Nigeria Plc.
The money was recovered from a suspect, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, who unlawfully took possession of over N1.3 billion belonging to the bank.
The bank, in its petition to the EFCC, alleged that system glitches had erroneously credited Kingsley’s account with the said amount. The commission, in its investigation, discovered that upon receiving the money, the suspect transferred a significant portion to the bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin, while using part of the funds to complete a building project and fund a new flamboyant lifestyle.
With the recovery of the money from the identified accounts, the EFCC handed it over in drafts to First Bank.
The Acting Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Deputy Commander DCE Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, while handing over the money, stated that the EFCC will continue to discharge its mandate effectively in the overall interests 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. 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 said.
In his response, Olalere Sunday Ajayi, Business Manager, First Bank, Benin, who received the drafts on behalf of the bank, commended the EFCC for the swiftness and professionalism demonstrated in handling the matter and expressed the bank’s gratitude to the Commission. He described the EFCC as one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable institutions.
Kingsley and all other suspects involved in the matter have been charged to court for stealing by the EFCC.