Repeat Offender Jailed Over N12m Share of Massive FCMB Fraud

Lagos, Nigeria — A Lagos Special Offences Court has sentenced a serial fraudster, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, to three years in prison for his role in a sophisticated mobile banking theft involving N12 million.

​Justice Rahman Oshodi, sitting in Ikeja on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, delivered the judgment after Adekola pleaded guilty to a one-count amended charge of stealing. The prosecution, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), revealed that the N12 million was part of a staggering N3.09 billion fraudulently siphoned from customer accounts at First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

​The court heard that in 2025, Adekola conspired with several individuals—some of whom remain at large—to hide the origins of the stolen funds. The N12 million was funneled into Adekola’s account following unauthorized access to the bank’s mobile platform.

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​To evade digital footprints, the syndicate utilized Point of Sale (POS) agents to withdraw the illicit funds and convert them into physical cash. Justice Oshodi emphasized that such actions directly constituted money laundering.

​A Pattern of Recidivism

​The EFCC prosecution counsel, E.S. Okongwu, presented a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a 2020 judgment as evidence of the defendant’s criminal history. In July 2020, Adekola had been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Ibadan for defrauding a Taiwanese national of $22,300.

​Despite his prior conviction, the defendant returned to high-stakes financial crime shortly after his release. Defense counsel Fabian Nwaforji urged the court to “temper justice with mercy,” citing Adekola’s remorse and the four years and six months he had already spent behind bars for previous offences.

​While Justice Oshodi took note of the defendant’s early guilty plea, he underscored the gravity of being a repeat offender.

​”The offence constitutes money laundering,” Justice Oshodi noted, highlighting the systemic threat such fraud poses to the banking sector.

​The court ultimately sentenced Adekola to three years’ imprisonment. Furthermore, the judge ordered the convict to restitute N3.5 million to FCMB within the next three months.