A former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Mr Chukwunyere Nwabuoku, has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja after he was convicted on all nine counts contained in a money laundering charge on which he was prosecuted.
In a judgment on Monday, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), sufficiently proved the offences alleged in the charge beyond a reasonable doubt as required by law. Justice Omotosho, who declined to grant the defendant an option of fine, sentenced him to eight years on each count, which he said should run concurrently.
The judge described as appalling, Nwabuoku’s conduct of diverting funds, meant for security and defence, while he served as the Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence. While commending the EFCC for being detailed in its prosecution, Justice Omotosho noted that the evidence of the ninth prosecution witness that Nwabuoku voluntarily refunded over N200million during the investigation was not controverted by the defence.
Nwabuoku was prosecuted on a charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, bordering on money laundering to the tune of N868 million. Nwabuoku was alleged to have perpetrated the act while serving as the Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.
