Court sentences former banker to five years over N2.7bn fraud

Earlier reports on the case linked Mr Edeh to alleged unauthorised access to the Fidelity Bank’s Entrust portal.

The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced a former banker, Christopher Jackson Edeh, to five years’ imprisonment over a N2.7 billion fraud.

She sentenced Mr Edeh to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of the first seven counts, which bordered on fraudulent false accounting.

She also imposed two years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on each of the remaining two counts relating to unauthorised access to a computer system to facilitate the commission of crimes.

The judge ordered that all the sentences run concurrently.

Although the total imprisonment added up to 39 years, the convict will serve only five – the longest single sentence – due to the judge’s order that the terms run concurrently.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement noted that Mr Edeh was arraigned on 28 February 2024 for allegedly altering the account details of several customers and government-related entities.

The affected accounts included those of the Kano State Government Power Intervention Fund, NNPC Trading Limited, Stallion Vision Ltd, the Lagos State Government Blue Line project, the State Contributory Pension Account and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

Earlier reports on the case linked Mr Edeh to alleged unauthorised access to the Fidelity Bank’s Entrust portal. Dangote Cement Plc was also named among the customers affected by the alleged transactions.

During the trial, prosecution lawyer Z.B. Atiku called three witnesses and tendered documents in evidence. The defence called one witness.

In her judgement, Mrs Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.