Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, March 23, 2026, convicted and sentenced a former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, to 72 years imprisonment for money laundering to the tune of ₦868,465,000 (Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand Naira).

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted the former AGF on a nine-count charge bordering on money laundering.

Count One

That you, CHUKWUNYERE ANAMEKWE NWABUOKU, TEMEEO SYNERGY CONCEPT LIMITED (at large), TURGE GLOBAL INVESTMENT LIMITED (at large), LAPTEV BRIDGE LIMITED (at large), ARAFURA TRANSNATIONAL AFRO LIMITED (at large), and other persons (at large), between September 2019 and October 2020 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to convert funds which are proceeds of unlawful activities, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012), and punishable under Section 15(2)(b) and (3) of the same Act.

Count Two

That you, CHUKWUNYERE ANAMEKWE NWABUOKU, and TEMEEO SYNERGY CONCEPT LIMITED (at large), between September 2019 and October 2020 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly converted the sum of ₦262,602,897.27 (Two Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Six Hundred and Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven Naira, Twenty-Seven Kobo) paid into the Zenith Bank Plc account of TEMEEO SYNERGY CONCEPT LIMITED, with account number 1016901286, knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 15(2)(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).

Count Three

That you, CHUKWUNYERE ANAMEKWE NWABUOKU, and TURGE GLOBAL INVESTMENT LIMITED (at large), between September 2019 and October 2020 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly converted the sum of ₦202,824,009.97 (Two Hundred and Two Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Four Thousand, Nine Naira, Ninety-Seven Kobo) paid into the Zenith Bank Plc account of TURGE GLOBAL INVESTMENT LIMITED, with account number 1016901279, knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 15(2)(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

Count Four

That you, CHUKWUNYERE ANAMEKWE NWABUOKU, and LAPTEV BRIDGE LIMITED (at large), between September 2019 and October 2020 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly converted the sum of ₦281,106,469.41 (Two Hundred and Eighty-One Million, One Hundred and Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Nine Naira, Forty-One Kobo) paid into the Zenith Bank Plc account of LAPTEV BRIDGE LIMITED, with account number 1016727695, knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 15(2)(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

While delivering judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, stressing that concrete evidence was presented to support the charges.

According to the judge, funds meant for the operation of the Ministry of Defence were diverted for personal use. He further noted that the corporate accounts used to receive the proceeds of unlawful activities did not bear the name of the defendant, as he attempted to shield himself from criminal liability.

“The evidence is clear that funds meant for the Ministry of Defence were converted to personal use when they were transferred into corporate accounts for the benefit of the defendant. The defendant, being a civil servant at the material time, claimed he had several investments; however, the evidence before the court did not establish any legitimate business activities to justify the volume of funds under his control.”

The court also noted that the defendant could not explain how he acquired a property worth ₦64 million or shares valued at ₦200 million.

Justice Omotosho further observed that a prosecution witness (PW9) testified that the defendant refunded ₦220 million to the EFCC recovery account, which was not challenged.

“The implication is that the defendant admitted to the offence of money laundering. If he did not have a guilty mind, he would not have refunded the money. I hereby convict the defendant on Counts 2 to 5.”

On Count One, the court held that conspiracy was established, as evidence from PW1 and PW2 showed that the defendant masterminded the opening and operation of corporate accounts (including Coiglobal, Nabyec, Arafura, and Kemo) used to receive illicit funds.

On Count Six, relating to the concealment of ₦355 million paid into the account of Mdavies Ltd:

“There was no explanation for the transaction. No business relationship existed to justify such a large sum. The court therefore concludes that the defendant is guilty of concealing the origin of ₦355 million.”

The court also found the defendant guilty on Counts 7, 8, and 9.

Justice Omotosho further noted that prior to 2019, the defendant’s account balance was about ₦3 million, but from August 2019, it began receiving large inflows of millions.

“The timeline is quite curious, as it coincides with the period of the alleged offences,” he said.