A prosecution witness in the trial of former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has detailed how the defendant allegedly diverted N868.4 million from the Federal Ministry of Defence into private company accounts.
Testifying before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, the ninth prosecution witness (PW9), Gudi Daniel Johnson, an investigator with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said the funds were funneled through a series of suspicious cash withdrawals and transfers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Nwabuoku on a nine-count amended charge bordering on money laundering involving the alleged diversion of N868,465,000.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, Johnson revealed that the ICPC acted on an intelligence report from the Ministry of Defence, uncovering transactions involving companies such as Trans Afro Limited, Torch Global Limited, and Teemell Limited. Investigations traced funds from the Ministry to these companies, linked to one Gideon Joseph, allegedly acting under Nwabuoku’s instructions.
“When the listed company addresses yielded no contact, we turned to the Ministry, where the Director of Accounts confirmed acting on the orders of the then Director of Finance—Nwabuoku,” Johnson stated. “Those who withdrew the funds claimed they did so under direct instructions to transfer money to companies like Teemell and Touch Global.”
Johnson further testified that when questioned, Nwabuoku claimed the transactions were for classified security operations. This prompted a multi-agency committee investigation involving representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), EFCC, and ICPC.
The investigation revealed that as soon as federal funds were deposited into the Ministry’s accounts, they were immediately withdrawn by Joseph and funneled into private companies. One company, M. Daddy’s Ltd, received N355 million, allegedly under Nwabuoku’s directive.
Records showed further fund movement from M. Daddy’s to Quantum Zenith Ltd, and other transactions including N13 million for a property purchase through El Salen Ltd and N10 million for a power generator.
A N65 million property linked to the defendant was traced to City Gate Homes. “We told him these were proceeds of crime,” Johnson added. “He claimed prior investments but failed to declare them to the Code of Conduct Bureau.”
Documentary evidence including correspondence from ONSA, Remita transaction logs, bank statements, and Code of Conduct Bureau reports were admitted as exhibits.
Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to May 22 and 23, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
