Court jails man 18 months for N30m Sterling Bank fraud in Lagos

A judge of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced Adebisi Ridwan Ayodeji to 18 months imprisonment for defrauding Sterling Bank Plc of N30 million.

The conviction was delivered by Justice O. A. Fadipe, who found the defendant guilty of stealing after a full trial.

Ayodeji was initially arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Ikoyi, on a one-count charge of stealing before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo. The case was later reassigned to Justice Fadipe, where proceedings began afresh on March 3, 2023.

According to the charge, the convict fraudulently converted N30,000,000 belonging to Sterling Bank to personal use on September 15, 2021, within the court’s jurisdiction.

He pleaded not guilty at arraignment, prompting a full trial during which the prosecution counsel, S.I. Suleiman, called three witnesses and tendered documentary evidence against him.

In judgment delivered on February 24, 2026, the court sentenced Ayodeji to 18 months in prison on the one-count charge of stealing. The judge also ordered him to pay restitution of N23,677,107.05 — the outstanding balance owed to the petitioner — in addition to serving the custodial sentence.