EFCC recovers, returns ₦802.4m to First Bank

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has successfully recovered and returned ₦802.4m to First Bank Nigeria Plc.

The recovery follows a daring exploitation of a bank’s “system glitch” by a customer who attempted to vanish with over ₦1.3 billion of the bank’s funds.

The Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC handed over the recovered sum in bank drafts to representatives of the financial institution yesterday.

The investigation began after First Bank petitioned the EFCC, alleging that a technical error led to the erroneous crediting of a customer, identified as Ojo Kingsley, with a staggering ₦1.3 billion.

Instead of reporting the anomaly, the EFCC discovered that Kingsley immediately went on a spending spree.

He reportedly transferred large sums of money into the private bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Osaretin.

Investigators further alleged that he channelled a significant portion of the funds into completing a private building project and used the rest to finance a new, flamboyant lifestyle that eventually attracted their attention.

During the handover ceremony, the Acting Zonal Director, Deputy Commander Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, emphasised that the EFCC would not allow fraudsters to profit from technical errors or criminal acts.

“The EFCC Establishment Act empowers us to trace and recover proceeds of crime and restitute the victim,” Sa’ad stated.

“In this case, First Bank was the victim. We will continue to ensure that economic and financial crimes are nipped in the bud.”

In response, Olalere Ajayi, Business Manager of First Bank in Benin, lauded the commission’s professionalism and swift action, describing the EFCC as one of the country’s “most effective and reliable institutions.”

The era of the “lavish lifestyle” has come to an abrupt end for the suspects.

The EFCC has charged Kingsley, along with his mother and sister, in court on counts of stealing and unlawful possession of funds.

The commission noted that efforts are still ongoing to recover the remaining balance of the diverted ₦1.3 billion.

For more details, visit New Daily Prime at www.newdailyprime.news