N2.7 billion fraud: Ex-banker jailed over tampering with NNPC, state accounts

The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has convicted a former banker, Christopher Jackson Edeh, for fraudulently altering bank account details linked to NNPC Trading Limited, the Lagos and Kano state governments, and other entities in a N2.7 billion fraud case.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed the conviction in a statement published on its official X account on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

Edeh, who was first brought before the court on February 28, 2024, was found guilty on nine charges involving fraudulent false accounting and illegally accessing a computer system.

EFCC details accounts affected by fraud

According to the EFCC, Edeh manipulated banking records belonging to corporate customers and government-related organisations with the intention of committing fraud.

The commission identified several accounts allegedly affected by the unauthorised alterations, including those belonging to public institutions and private companies.

• The accounts included those of the “Kano State Government Power Intervention Fund, NNPC Trading Limited, Stallion Vision Ltd, the Lagos State Government Blue Line, the State Contributory Pension Account and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.”
• During the proceedings, EFCC prosecuting counsel Z.B. Atiku presented three witnesses and submitted documentary evidence to support the charges against Edeh, while the defence called one witness.
• Delivering her judgment, Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe ruled that the prosecution had established Edeh’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt on all nine counts.

The judge consequently handed him five years’ imprisonment on each of the first seven counts involving fraudulent false accounting, without an option of fine.

For the remaining two counts, which concerned illegal access to a computer system to facilitate criminal activities, the court imposed two years’ imprisonment on each count, also without an option of fine.

Although the individual sentences amounted to 39 years, the judge directed that they run concurrently, meaning Edeh will serve a maximum prison term of five years under the judgment.

How the N2.7 billion case began

The case dates back to September 2023, when Edeh, who was then employed by Fidelity Bank Plc, was accused of manipulating customers’ account information and gaining unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system.

The EFCC subsequently arraigned him before Justice Abike-Fadipe on nine charges under Sections 337 and 387 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

• One of the charges alleged that Edeh, while working at Fidelity Bank, “with intent to defraud, altered the customer account details of Dangote Cement Plc in possession of Fidelity Bank.”
• Another accused him of gaining unauthorised access to Fidelity Bank’s Entrust portal in September 2023 to facilitate the alleged theft of N2,737,784,800.

Edeh denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him, prompting the prosecution to proceed with the case.

EFCC prosecutes other major fraud cases

Edeh’s conviction follows several other fraud-related prosecutions involving former banking officials and individuals accused of financial misconduct in Nigeria.

Over the years, the EFCC has secured convictions in cases involving the illegal diversion of funds and obtaining money through false representations, while other investigations have led to fresh criminal charges.

• In 2021, the Lagos State High Court, presided over by Justice Lateefa A. Okunnu, convicted former Finbank Plc Managing Director Okey Nwosu and three former directors over the theft and unlawful conversion of N10.9 billion.
• In September 2025, the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, sentenced former legislative aide and banker Goni Yilkan to eight years in prison for an employment scam involving N120.5 million obtained under false pretences.

In February 2026, the EFCC arraigned two suspects over an alleged N600 million employment fraud connected to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The case involved allegations of collecting money under false pretences linked to a promised appointment.