First Bank Nigeria Plc has received N802,420,000 that was seized from a fraud suspect by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after a technical error mistakenly credited the money to the suspect's account. 

The money was seized from Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, who reportedly unlawfully took possession of more than N1.3 billion that belonged to the bank, according to a statement released by the EFCC on Tuesday via its official X account. 

The bank claimed that system errors caused Kingsley's account to be mistakenly credited with the sum, according to the EFCC.

“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.

The EFCC gave First Bank the money in bank drafts after the cash were recovered from the designated accounts. 

Sa'ad Hanafi Sa'ad, Deputy Commander of the EFCC and Acting Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate, stated that the Commission will continue to fulfill its purpose while delivering the funds.

“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.

Source