A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former Fidelity Bank employee, Christopher Jackson Edeh, to five years’ imprisonment over a ₦2.7 billion fraud case involving the alteration of bank account details linked to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and government institutions.
Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe delivered the judgment on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, after finding Edeh guilty of nine counts bordering on fraudulent false accounting and unauthorised access to a computer system.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prosecuted the case through its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, disclosed the conviction in a statement.
According to the commission, Edeh was arraigned on February 28, 2024, over allegations that he manipulated bank account details belonging to customers and government-related organisations with intent to defraud.
The affected accounts included those linked to NNPC Trading Limited, the Kano State Government Power Intervention Fund, the Lagos State Government Blue Line project, the State Contributory Pension Account, Stallion Vision Limited and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
Dangote Cement Plc was also mentioned in connection with the alleged alteration of customer account details.
The case involved allegations of fraudulent changes to banking records and unauthorised access to Fidelity Bank’s computer systems.
One of the charges alleged that Edeh accessed the bank’s Entrust portal without authorisation in September 2023 to facilitate the theft of ₦2,737,784,800.
Edeh initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, leading to a full trial.
During the proceedings, the prosecution, led by counsel Z.B. Atiku, called three witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to support its case. The defence presented one witness.
In her judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution had proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Edeh on all nine counts.
The court sentenced Edeh to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of the first seven counts relating to fraudulent false accounting.
He was also sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of the remaining two counts involving unauthorised access to a computer system to facilitate criminal activities.
Although the individual sentences add up to 39 years, the judge ordered that they run concurrently.
This means Edeh will serve an effective prison term of five years under the judgment.
