Must You Return Money That Isn’t Yours? The Nigerian Law on Money Paid Into Your Account by Mistake

Imagine checking your bank account and discovering that ₦500,000 has suddenly been credited to your account.

You do not recognise the sender. You did not expect any payment. Yet, the money is sitting comfortably in your account.

The first thought might be: “Maybe someone sent it to me.”

But what happens when you later discover that the money was transferred to you by mistake?

Can you keep it because it has already entered your account?

No.

Under Nigerian law, receiving money by mistake does not automatically make you the owner of that money. Once you know that the money does not belong to you, deliberately keeping or spending it can expose you to legal consequences.

What Happens When Money Is Sent to You by Mistake?

A mistaken bank transfer can happen for several reasons. Someone may enter the wrong account number, transfer the wrong amount, or mistakenly send money to a person with a similar name.

In such circumstances, the fact that the money has been credited to your bank account does not necessarily mean that you have acquired a legal right to keep it.

If you discover that the money was transferred to you in error, you should notify your bank and cooperate with the appropriate process for returning the funds.

The situation becomes more serious if you realise that the money is not yours but deliberately decide to keep, withdraw or spend it.

Can Keeping the Money Amount to Stealing?

Potentially, yes.

Section 383 of the Criminal Code Act contains the definition of stealing. It covers fraudulent conversion of property belonging to another, including property that comes into a person’s possession innocently or by mistake.

This is important because it means that the circumstances in which you initially received the money do not necessarily end the matter.

You may have received the money innocently. You may not have asked anyone to send it. You may not even have known about the mistake when the transfer was made.

However, what you do after discovering that the money is not yours can become legally significant.

For example, imagine that someone mistakenly transfers ₦300,000 into your account. You receive a message from your bank and subsequently confirm that the sender made an error.

Instead of reporting the transaction, you withdraw the money and spend it.

The fact that you did not cause the original mistake does not necessarily protect you from liability for what you subsequently did with the money.

What If You Have Already Spent the Money?

Spending the money does not automatically make the obligation disappear.

Depending on the circumstances, the person who made the mistaken payment may have civil remedies for recovery of the money. There may also be criminal consequences where the necessary elements of an offence are established.

This is why it is important not to treat an unexpected credit as free money simply because it is already available for withdrawal.

What Should You Do If You Receive Money by Mistake?

If an unexpected payment enters your account, take reasonable steps to establish what happened.

You should:

1. Do not spend or transfer the money.
2. Contact your bank and report the unexpected transaction.
3. Keep records of the transaction and your communication with the bank.
4. If the sender contacts you, verify the claim through your bank rather than relying solely on the person’s message.
5. Allow the bank to follow its appropriate process for reversing or returning the funds.

You should also be careful about independently sending money to someone who claims to have mistakenly transferred funds to you. Scammers can use fake transfer alerts or other deceptive methods to make people send their own money.

The Bottom Line

A mistaken bank transfer is not a financial windfall simply because the money has appeared in your account.

If you know that money belongs to someone else, deliberately keeping or spending it can create serious legal problems.

The safest approach is simple: do not spend what you know is not yours. Report the transaction to your bank and follow the proper process for returning the funds.

When it comes to unexpected payments, an extra balance in your account may look like good news—but if it does not belong to you, it can quickly become a legal problem.