The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced a retired Director of Finance and Administration with the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) under the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Mr. Garuba Duku, to 24 years imprisonment for diverting ₦318 million.
The judgment followed Duku’s arraignment by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on six counts of corruption and money laundering.
This was revealed in a statement released on Thursday by the ICPC’s Director of Public Enlightenment and Education, Mr. Demola Bakare.
The ICPC, established in 2000, is one of Nigeria’s key anti-corruption bodies responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes under the ICPC Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
According to the statement, Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the case with suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/608/2022, found Duku guilty on all six counts.
“According to ICPC investigations, between 2012 and 2013, Duku fraudulently diverted N318,250,000 belonging to AMMC into his personal account with Fidelity Bank Plc.
“The court heard that the funds were received in several instalments — N56.25m, N71m, N53m, N54m, N46m, and N36.3m — and later transferred to Bureau de Change operators for unauthorised purposes.
“The ICPC prosecutors told the court that the transactions violated government financial regulations and that Duku’s actions were ‘a clear abuse of public trust’,” the statement partly read.
During trial, Duku argued that he had handed the funds to his superiors, but the court rejected his claim due to lack of evidence.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho stated that “The prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” adding that the ICPC’s evidence “was credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish the offences charged.”
“Consequently, the judge sentenced Duku to four years’ imprisonment on each of the six counts or an option of fine equivalent to five times the amount involved in each count — amounting to about N1.6bn. The sentences are to run concurrently,” the statement added.
Reacting to the ruling, Bakare described the conviction as a major milestone in the ICPC’s anti-corruption efforts.
“This judgment underscores ICPC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that public officers who betray the trust reposed in them are brought to justice,” he said.
“No one entrusted with public funds is above the law, and this conviction sends a strong message that corruption will not go unpunished.”
He further noted that the ICPC would continue to pursue corruption cases with “diligence and professionalism” to protect public resources.
In recent cases, the commission secured the conviction of a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant, Christopher Oluchukwu, in May 2024 for defrauding job seekers, and in 2019, a former ICPC board nominee, Dr. Saad Alanamu, alongside Salman Sulaiman, was sentenced to 24 years for bribery offences.
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