EFCC Hands Over Recovered N802.4m to First Bank
Benin City, Edo State – January 12, 2026
The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, January 12, 2026, 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 funds were recovered from a suspect, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, who allegedly took unlawful possession of over N1.3 billion belonging to the bank.
According to a petition submitted to the EFCC, First Bank disclosed that a system glitch had erroneously credited Kingsley’s account with the huge sum. Investigations by the Commission revealed that upon receiving the funds, Kingsley transferred substantial portions to the bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin. He was also found to have committed part of the money to the completion of a personal building project and the funding of a new flamboyant lifestyle.
Following the recovery of the funds from the identified bank accounts, the EFCC handed over the sum to First Bank in bank drafts.
While presenting the drafts, the Acting Director of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Deputy Commander of the EFCC (DCE) Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, reiterated the Commission’s commitment to its statutory mandate.
“The EFCC Establishment Act empowers us to trace and recover proceeds of crime and restitute victims. 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 exhibited in handling the matter. He expressed the bank’s gratitude to the Commission, describing the EFCC as one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable institutions.
Kingsley and other suspects connected to the case have been charged to court by the EFCC for stealing.
