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N868m Fraud: Nigeria’s Ex-Acting Accountant-General Sentenced to 72 Years

"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"

Per Second NewsMarch 23, 20261 Mins read552

In a significant anti-corruption ruling, an Abuja Federal High Court has jailed former Acting Accountant-General Anamekwe Nwabuoku for 72 years, who held the position for just two months.

Justice James Omotosho delivered the verdict on Monday, confirming that the EFCC proved its N868.4 million money laundering case against the former official.

Nwabuoku, who faced a nine-count charge, had remained on a N500 million bail throughout the trial before his conviction on Monday.

The EFCC, in a statement posted on its official X handle, described the conviction as a significant step in its efforts to ensure accountability and deter financial crimes in the public sector.

“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,” EFCC wrote.

In the suit filed under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, the anti-graft agency alleged that Nwabuoku worked in concert with several corporate entities—Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited—to transform cash suspected to derive from criminal conduct into seemingly legitimate assets.

These actions were said to breach Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012, which carries sanctions under Section 15(3) of the same statute.

Prosecutors maintained that the offences took place while Nwabuoku served as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.

Before the final ruling, the defence had lodged a no-case submission that the court dismissed in November 2025.

Persecondnews recalls that Nwabuoku was appointed acting Accountant-General on May 20, 2022, following the suspension of his predecessor, Ahmed Idris, who faced separate allegations of an N80 billion fraud.

His elevation by then-President Muhammadu Buhari proved remarkably brief; by July 2022, he was removed from office after reports emerged that he had also become a subject of an EFCC investigation.