From Power to Prison: Former Acting AGF Bags 72 Years Jail Term Over N200m Defence Funds Fraud
From Power to Prison: Former Acting AGF Bags 72 Years Jail Term Over N200m Defence Funds Fraud
By Matthew Eloyi
A landmark judgment was delivered on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja as Chukwunyere Nwabuoku, former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, was handed a cumulative 72-year prison sentence over a money laundering case tied to defence funds.
Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the case, ruled that the prosecution had firmly established its case against the former government official.
According to the judge, “the defendant is hereby convicted as charged.”
Nwabuoku was found guilty on all nine counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with the court imposing eight years imprisonment on each count.
Jutsice Omotosho convicted Nwabuoku in all the nine counts and sentenced him to eight years imprisonment in each of the counts, making 72 years.
The judge, however, ordered that the counts shall run concurrently.
The case drew particular attention due to the nature of the funds involved, which were meant for national security and defence.
Justice Omotosho, who described Nwabuoku’s act of diverting funds meant for security and defence while he served as Director of Finance and Account in the Ministry of Defence as ‘appalling,’ commended the EFCC for being detailed in its prosecution.
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The court also highlighted evidence showing that part of the misappropriated funds had been returned during the investigation.
The judge observed that the evidence of the 9th prosecution witness that Nwabuoku voluntarily refunded part of the siphoned money of over N200 million during investigation was not controverted by the defence.
Nwabuoku’s legal battle began earlier this year following his arraignment on multiple charges.
It was gathered that Nwabuoku was admitted to a N500 million bail with two sureties in the like sum after he was arraigned on Jan. 15, 2025, on a nine-count amended charge.
The EFCC, which prosecuted the case under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, accused him of committing the offences between 2019 and 2021 while serving as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence.
