An Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has sentenced Chinedu Francis Nwabuisi to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for converting N21.9 million erroneously credited to his bank account to personal use.
Justice Irele Ifijeh handed down the sentence after convicting Nwabuisi for converting N21,939,237.27 belonging to First Bank Plc.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission disclosed this in a statement shared on its official X handle on Tuesday, stating that the money was mistakenly credited to the convict’s account due to a system glitch at the bank.
According to the EFCC, Nwabuisi was arraigned by its Benin Zonal Directorate for converting the funds to his personal use.
The commission said prosecution counsel, M.S. Dahiru, presented two witnesses, including a senior First Bank official and an EFCC operative, while relevant documents were also admitted in evidence.
In his defence, Nwabuisi claimed he believed the money was a benefit from operating a Point of Sale business with the bank.
The EFCC said the convict converted “the sum of N21,939,237.27, which was erroneously credited to his account due to a system glitch by First Bank Plc.”
Justice Ifijeh sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine and ordered him to restitute First Bank Plc with N21,939,732.27.
Under Nigerian law, keeping and spending money credited to an account in error can constitute theft or conversion, depending on the circumstances.
The Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code provide for offences relating to dishonest conversion of property, while the EFCC prosecutes such cases under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
In previous cases, Nigerian courts have held that a bank customer who discovers an erroneous credit and spends it without informing the bank is liable for conversion. In 2022, a Lagos court sentenced a man to six months in prison for spending N1.5 million mistakenly credited to his account.
The EFCC has repeatedly warned bank customers to report any suspicious credit to their banks rather than spending the funds, noting that such acts amount to a criminal offence.
The commission urged members of the public to visit its official website for more information on its activities.
