Repeat Fraud Convict Bags Fresh 3-Year Jail Term Over N12m Bank Fraud in Lagos
Repeat Fraud Convict Bags Fresh 3-Year Jail Term Over N12m Bank Fraud in Lagos
A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced a convicted fraudster, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, to three years’ imprisonment for his role in a ₦12 million banking fraud, with the court also ordering partial restitution to the victim bank.
The trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, delivered the judgment after Adekola pleaded guilty to an amended one-count charge of stealing filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the prosecution, the defendant collaborated with accomplices who are still at large to conceal and disguise about ₦12 million traced to his bank account in 2025. Investigators told the court that the money was part of a larger fraud estimated at ₦3.09 billion siphoned from customer accounts in First City Monument Bank through unauthorised access and mobile banking manipulation.
The court heard that the illicit funds were later withdrawn and moved through several Point-of-Sale (POS) operators in an attempt to launder the proceeds.
The case was worsened by the defendant’s criminal history. Evidence presented before the court showed that he had earlier been convicted in 2020 by Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, for defrauding a foreign national of 22,300 US dollars, for which he received a lengthy prison sentence.
During sentencing, EFCC counsel E. S. Okongwu asked the court to impose a stiff penalty and order the defendant to refund ₦3.5 million to the victim bank. Defence lawyer Fabian Nwaforji pleaded for leniency, noting that the convict had shown remorse and had already spent more than four years in custody while the case was pending.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi described the offence as a serious case of financial crime aggravated by repeat offending. While taking into account the guilty plea and willingness to make restitution, the court sentenced Adekola to three years’ imprisonment and directed him to refund ₦3.5 million to FCMB within three months.
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