- Ogo Ehosa Kingsley, a Nigerian man who went viral after being sentenced to one year in jail for returning a £1.5bn balance mistakenly deposited into a Bank One account.
- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took up the matter and Kingsley was arraigned on January 19, 2026 on charges bordering on theft and fraud.
A Nigerian man has reportedly chosen to serve a year in prison rather than return £1.5bn mistakenly deposited into his Bank One account, sparking widespread reactions online.
User @arhermadd shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and identified the man as Ogo Ehosa Kingsley. The post states that between June and November 2025, Kingsley allegedly transferred funds for personal use after a credit error appeared on his account.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took up the matter and Kingsley was arraigned on January 19, 2026 on charges bordering on theft and fraud. He reportedly pleaded guilty to the charges.
After he entered a plea, the court ordered Kingsley to return the unpaid amount of ₦272,252,193.59 to First Bank. Prior to the judgment, the EFCC had recovered £802.42 million from the accounts of Kingsley and his relatives, plus a further £300 million through transfer reversals.
Kingsley reportedly chose to serve a year in prison rather than return the balance, a development that shocked many observers.
Read the tweet below…
One Bank One customer, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, has been embroiled in a major controversy after the bank mistakenly credited £1.5bn to his account.
He was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Benin City and arraigned before an Edo State High Court on January 19, 2026. Kingsley was charged with theft and fraud under the Edo State Penal Code (2022).
Prior to the sentencing, the EFCC had recovered £802,420,000 from Kingsley’s accounts and those of his mother and sister, while the banks had successfully reversed transactions totaling more than £300 million.
In a dramatic turn of events, Kingsley told the court he would rather serve jail time than pay back the remaining amount. In fact, he publicly chose jail rather than pay back the £272m.
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