N12m Theft: Ex-Convict Bags Three Years Imprisonment in Lagos

N12m Theft: Ex-Convict Bags Three Years Imprisonment in Lagos

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, convicted and sentenced an ex-convict, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, to three years’ imprisonment for theft involving N12 million.

Adekola was arraigned on March 16, 2026, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, on a one-count amended charge bordering on stealing.

The charge stated that the defendant, alongside others still at large, in 2025 in Lagos, collaborated to conceal and disguise the origin of N12,000,000 paid into his account.

The funds were allegedly part of a larger sum of N3,091,441,849 fraudulently obtained from accounts domiciled with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) through unauthorized access and mobile banking fraud. The money was said to have been withdrawn and converted to cash through Point of Sale (POS) agents.

Upon arraignment, Adekola pleaded guilty to the charge.

Further proceedings revealed that the defendant had a prior conviction. On July 23, 2020, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State, had sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment for defrauding a Taiwanese of $22,300.

Prior to his sentence, prosecution counsel, E. S. Okongwu, tendered a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the July 23, 2020 judgment as evidence, with suit no. FHC/IB/32c/2018 which the court admitted as Exhibit 1. The prosecution also sought restitution of N3.5 million to the nominal complainant.

In his allocutus, defence counsel, Fabian Nwaforji, pleaded for leniency, stating that the convict was remorseful and had already spent four years and six months in prison, urging the court to temper justice with mercy.

Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi noted that the offence constituted money laundering and emphasized the defendant’s status as a repeat offender.

He, however, acknowledged the defendant’s early guilty plea and willingness to make restitution.

Consequently, the court sentenced Adekola to three years’ imprisonment and ordered him to restitute N3.5 million to FCMB within three months.

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