The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a retired Director of Finance and Administration with the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Garuba Mohammed Duku, to 24 years imprisonment for corruption and money laundering involving ₦318 million.
Justice James Omotosho, who delivered the judgment, found Duku guilty on all six counts filed against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/608/2022.
The judge held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt through documentary evidence and witness testimonies.
Consequently, Duku was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on each of the six counts, to run concurrently.He was, however, given an option of a fine equivalent to five times the amount stated in each count, totalling about ₦1.6 billion.
In a statement on Thursday, the ICPC said investigations revealed that between 2012 and 2013, Duku fraudulently diverted ₦318,250,000 belonging to the AMMC into his personal Fidelity Bank account.
The Commission added that the convict received multiple payments — ₦56.25 million, ₦71 million, ₦53 million, ₦54 million, ₦46 million, and ₦36.3 million — which he transferred to Bureau de Change operators and used for unauthorized purposes.
During the trial, the ICPC dismissed Duku’s defence that the funds were disbursed to his superiors, noting that he provided no evidence to support the claim.
The court, therefore, convicted and sentenced him accordingly, marking another milestone in ICPC’s ongoing efforts to combat corruption and financial crimes in public service.
(The Guardian)
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