COURT JAILS REPEAT FRAUDSTER THREE YEARS OVER N12M BANKING FRAUD IN LAGOS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced a repeat fraud offender, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, to three years’ imprisonment for his involvement in a N12 million banking fraud.
Adekola was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and pleaded guilty to a one-count amended charge of stealing when he was arraigned on March 16, 2026.
Investigations revealed that the convict collaborated with accomplices still at large to conceal and disguise N12 million traced to his bank account in 2025. The stolen funds were part of a larger N3.09 billion fraud siphoned from customer accounts domiciled with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) through unauthorised access and mobile banking fraud. The proceeds were later withdrawn and laundered through Point of Sale (POS) agents.
The case was further aggravated by Adekola’s criminal record. In July 2020, he had been convicted and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Ibadan for defrauding a Taiwanese national of $22,300. The prosecution presented this as evidence of his status as a repeat offender.
During proceedings, EFCC counsel E.S. Okongwu urged the court to impose appropriate punishment and order restitution of N3.5 million to the victim. However, defence counsel Fabian Nwaforji pleaded for leniency, citing the defendant’s remorse and the more than four years he had already spent in custody.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi described the offence as money laundering aggravated by recidivism. While acknowledging the defendant’s guilty plea and willingness to make restitution, the court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment and ordered him to refund N3.5 million to FCMB within three months.
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