“Court jails ex-banker 39 years.” That was the headline many Nigerians saw this week, and it sounded like the man would grow old behind bars. Then came the twist in the small print: thanks to a concurrent sentence, he will actually serve five years.
No, the judge didn’t make a mistake. The legal term just changes everything. Both Concurrent and consecutive sentences appear in almost every Nigerian court report.
The Case That Got Everyone Asking
On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, convicted a former banker, Christopher Jackson Edeh, on nine counts brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The case involved about ₦2.7 billion. 
Prosecutors accused him of altering the account details of bank customers and government-linked accounts, including NNPC Trading Limited and the Lagos State Government Blue Line, with intent to defraud.
Here is how the sentence breaks down:
- Counts one to seven (fraudulent false accounting): five years each, without the option of a fine.
- Counts eight and nine (unauthorised access to a computer system): two years each, without the option of a fine.
The counts adding up to 39 years. However, the judge ordered all the terms to run concurrently. A concurrent sentence order, turns 39 years on paper into five years in practice.
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What Is a Concurrent Sentence?
A concurrent sentence means the prison terms for different counts run at the same time, side by side. So the convict serves only the longest single term.
Think of it like several clocks that all start ticking on the same day. In Edeh’s case, the longest term on any one count is five years. Once those five years end, every shorter term inside them has also been served. That is why “39 years” and “five years” can both be correct. The first number is the total of all the sentences, while the second is the time the person actually spends in custody.
What Is a Consecutive Sentence?
A consecutive sentence works the opposite way. Each term starts only after the previous one ends, so the years stack on top of each other. Using the same numbers, a consecutive order would have meant the full 39 years, one count after another.
A real example came earlier this year. In May 2026, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, over about ₦33.8 billion linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydropower projects. Mamman got seven years on each of 10 counts, three years on one count and two years on another. Because the judge ordered the terms to run consecutively, the total came to 75 years.
Who Decides
The trial judge decides whether sentences run concurrently or consecutively. In fact, Nigeria’s Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 has a section dedicated to consecutive sentences of imprisonment (section 418).
The crime committed also matters. Courts generally impose concurrent sentences when several offences arise from the same event, transaction or continuous act such as breaking into a house and stealing property during the same incident. Consecutive sentences may be imposed when the offences arise from separate occasions, different days or distinct criminal episodes, reflecting the separate conduct or harm.
How to Read the Next Sentencing Headline
Next time you see “Court jails man 100 years”, look for these three things in the story:
- The longest single term. If the court gave a concurrent sentence, this is roughly what the person serves.
- The words “concurrently” or “consecutively”. Those words tell you whether the years overlap or stack.
- The start date. If the sentence counts from the arrest, time already spent in detention comes off.
Finally, remember that the phrase “without the option of a fine” simply means the convict cannot pay money instead of going to prison. Some counts do come with a fine option. In Mamman’s case, for instance, one count carried an option of a ₦10 million fine.
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