19-year-old girl steals ₦35.92 million from the woman who raised her, transfers it to her boyfriend before being caught

The commission alleges Elia used access to a woman’s phone and banking details to transfer the money from her Moniepoint account into Uzoma’s UBA account.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty and were remanded at the Benin Correctional Centre. The case was adjourned until December 7, 2026.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two lovers, Marian Elia, 19, and Izuchukwu Uzoma, 21, over the alleged theft of ₦35.92 million belonging to a woman, Mrs Esther Ogbeifun, in Benin, Edo State.

The commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, saying its Benin Zonal Directorate arraigned the defendants before Justice C. A. Obiozor of the Federal High Court. They face a seven-count charge "bordering on cybercrime, conspiracy and stealing."

The EFCC alleged that Elia, who grew up in Ogbeifun’s house, had access to her phones and banking information and used it to transfer the money from the victim’s account into an account belonging to Uzoma, her boyfriend.

According to one of the charges, Elia, between March 8 and July 29, 2026, used Ogbeifun’s Moniepoint personal banking application to transfer a total of ₦35.92 million into a United Bank for Africa (UBA) account operated by Uzoma, causing the woman a financial loss. The charge says the offence violates Section 33(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.

The commission further alleged that the defendants converted the money to their personal use.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them. Prosecution counsel, I. M. Elodi, then asked the court to fix a trial date and remand them in a correctional centre.

Justice Obiozor ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Benin Correctional Centre in Benin City and adjourned the case until December 7, 2026, for hearing.

The statement did not say how the money was spent, whether any of it has been recovered, or what the other six counts are.