Man Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Spending N21.9m Mistakenly Credited To His Account

The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of Chinedu Francis Nwabuisi, who was sentenced to two years in prison for converting N21,939,732.27 mistakenly credited to his account into personal use.

The sentence was handed down on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, by Justice Irele Ifijeh of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City.

According to the anti-graft agency, the funds were erroneously transferred into Nwabuisi’s account following a technical system glitch experienced by First Bank Plc.

During the trial, prosecution counsel M.S. Dahiru called two key witnesses—a senior official from First Bank Plc and an EFCC operative—and presented multiple documentary exhibits to substantiate the conversion charge.

In his defence, Nwabuisi claimed he believed the multi-million naira influx represented legitimate proceeds from operating a Point of Sale (POS) business with the financial institution.

However, Justice Ifijeh dismissed the defence, convicting and sentencing Nwabuisi to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered the convict to make full restitution by refunding the entire sum of N21,939,732.27 back to First Bank Plc.