BREAKING: Former Accountant-General Nwabuoku Sentenced to 72 Years in Jail Over N868m Fraud

Former Acting Accountant-General Nwabuoku has been sentenced to 72 years in jailed over N868m fraud.

 

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced the conviction and sentencing of former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, to 72 years imprisonment over a fraud case involving N868.46 million.

 

The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Monday, stating that Nwabuoku was prosecuted before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on money laundering.

 

According to the commission, the former government official was found guilty after a full trial during which the prosecution presented several witnesses and documentary evidence.

 

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“The former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, who was prosecuted by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for money laundering involving N868.46 million, has been convicted and sentenced to jail for 72 years,” the commission said.

 

Nwabuoku was appointed Acting Accountant-General of the Federation in May 2022 after the suspension of his predecessor, Ahmed Idris, over an alleged N800 million fraud case. However, he was removed from the position just weeks after his appointment.

 

The EFCC had arraigned him on January 15, 2025, on nine amended counts of money laundering. The court initially granted him bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum pending the conclusion of the trial.

 

In the first count, the commission alleged that Nwabuoku conspired with several companies, including Temero Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited, to convert funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

 

The alleged offences contravened Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and are punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

 

The EFCC further revealed that part of the offences involved the alleged laundering of about N86 million during the period when Nwabuoku served as Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.

 

During the trial, the prosecution presented nine witnesses, including a staff member of Zenith Bank, Eucharia Ezeodi, and a federal civil service director, Felix Nweke, who testified on the financial transactions linked to the case.

 

The court subsequently found the former Acting Accountant-General guilty and handed down the 72-year prison sentence, bringing the high-profile corruption trial to a close.