A former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has been handed a combined 72-year prison sentence by a Federal High Court in Abuja after being found guilty in a major money laundering case involving ₦868.4 million.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice James Omotosho, came after the court held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented convincing evidence against the ex-government official.
Nwabuoku faced a revised nine-count charge centred on fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors alleged that he collaborated with multiple companies – including Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited – to move funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The EFCC told the court that the offences took place between 2019 and 2021, when Nwabuoku served as Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Defence. The charges were filed under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, which outlines penalties for such financial crimes.
Although he was earlier granted bail set at ₦500 million with two sureties, the trial continued after the court dismissed his no-case submission in November 2025.
Nwabuoku was appointed acting Accountant-General on May 20, 2022, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, replacing Ahmed Idris, who had been suspended over an alleged ₦80 billion fraud case. However, his time in office was brief, as he was removed just two months later amid reports of an ongoing EFCC investigation.
This conviction adds to the growing list of high-profile corruption cases in Nigeria, as authorities intensify efforts to clamp down on financial misconduct and enforce accountability within public institutions.
