Man jailed for spending money mistakenly sent to his account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the sentencing of a man identified as Chinedu Francis Nwabuisi, to two years in prison for converting more than N21.9 million erroneously credited to his bank account for personal use.

The commission disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

According to the EFCC, Justice Irele Ifijeh of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City convicted and sentenced Nwabuisi to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

The commission said the money, amounting to N21.9m, was mistakenly credited to Nwabuisi’s account following a system glitch at First Bank Plc.

The EFCC stated that Nwabuisi was arraigned by its Benin Zonal Directorate after allegedly converting the funds to his personal use.

The statement mentioned that during the trial, prosecution counsel, M.S. Dahiru, presented two witnesses, comprising a senior First Bank official and an EFCC operative. It stated that several documents were also tendered and admitted as exhibits by the court.

In his defence, Nwabuisi reportedly told the court that he believed the money was proceeds from operating a Point of Sale (POS) business with the bank.

However, Justice Ifijeh found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison without an option of fine.

The court also ordered him to refund the money to First Bank Plc.

The EFCC stated that the court ordered Nwabuisi to “restitute the complainant, First Bank Plc” with the sum of N21,939,732.27.