Court Jails Ex-Acting Accountant-General Nwabuoku 72 Years Over N868m Money Laundering

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court has sentenced former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, to a total of 72 years imprisonment after finding him guilty of laundering more than N868 million. 

The conviction followed a nine-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which accused the former official of moving illicit funds through several companies to conceal their origin between September 2019 and October 2020.

In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution established its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the evidence presented before the court clearly showed that funds meant for the operations of the Ministry of Defence were diverted into private accounts linked to companies allegedly controlled by the defendant.

The court found that the companies were used as fronts to disguise the source of the money and avoid detection, stressing that the accounts involved did not carry the defendant’s name, a move interpreted as a deliberate attempt to evade responsibility.

According to the ruling, several large transactions — including sums exceeding N262 million, N202 million and N281 million — passed through different corporate accounts and were traced to unlawful activities, with no legitimate business explanation provided for the inflow of funds.

The judge also observed that the defendant could not satisfactorily explain how he acquired a property valued at N64 million as well as shares worth about N200 million within the period under review.

The court further noted that the refund of N220 million into an EFCC recovery account during the investigation strengthened the prosecution’s case, as the payment was not disputed during trial proceedings.

On the conspiracy charge, the court ruled that Nwabuoku played a central role in the scheme, relying on witness testimonies which linked him to the establishment and use of multiple shell companies that received the diverted funds.

He was also convicted for concealing about N355 million paid into another company’s account on his behalf, with the court stating that no lawful transaction was presented to justify the payment.

In another observation, the court pointed out that the defendant’s bank balance stood at about N3 million before 2019 but rose sharply within a short period, coinciding with the time the offences were committed.

Justice Omotosho subsequently convicted him on several counts and imposed cumulative prison terms totaling 72 years, in what observers describe as one of the most significant convictions involving a senior government finance official in recent years.