A federal high court has sentenced Anamekwe Nwabuoku to a total of 72 years in prison after finding him guilty of fraud and money laundering involving N868.4 million.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice James Omotosho ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had successfully proven its case against the former public official beyond reasonable doubt.
Nwabuoku was arraigned on a nine-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and fraudulent diversion of public funds. The court convicted him on all counts and sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment on each count, bringing the cumulative sentence to 72 years. However, the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Justice Omotosho described the offence as “appalling”, noting that the funds diverted were meant for security and defence while the defendant served as director of finance and accounts at the ministry of defence.
The judge also commended the EFCC for what he termed a meticulous prosecution, adding that evidence presented by the prosecution was credible and largely unchallenged by the defence.
According to the court, testimony revealed that Nwabuoku had refunded over N200 million during the course of the investigation, a claim that was not disputed.
Court documents showed that the former acting accountant-general conspired with several companies, including Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited, to convert funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The offences, committed between 2019 and 2021, contravened provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended.
Nwabuoku was appointed acting accountant-general in May 2022 by former president Muhammadu Buhari following the suspension of Ahmed Idris over an alleged N80 billion fraud.
He was, however, removed from office in July 2022, barely weeks after his appointment, amid reports that he was under investigation by the EFCC.
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