Justice Irele Ifijeh of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has convicted and sentenced Chinedu Francis Nwabuisi to two years imprisonment without an option of fine for converting to his personal use more than N21.9 million that was erroneously credited to his First Bank account.
Nwabuisi was arraigned by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The court found that he spent the sum of N21,939,237.27, which had been wrongly deposited into his account as a result of a system glitch at First Bank Plc.
Prosecuting counsel M.S. Dahiru called two witnesses — a senior official of First Bank and an operative of the Commission — and tendered documents that were admitted in evidence. In his defence, Nwabuisi claimed he believed the funds were benefits accruing to him from operating a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal with the bank.
Rejecting the defence, Justice Ifijeh convicted Nwabuisi and sentenced him to two years in prison without the option of a fine. The judge also ordered him to restitute First Bank Plc the sum of N21,939,732.27.
The case underscores the legal principle that money wrongly credited to an account does not become the property of the account holder and that spending such funds constitutes a criminal offence.