Former Acting Accountant-General Nwabuoku Jailed 72 Years Over N868m Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced that a former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has been convicted and sentenced to 72 years in prison for fraud involving N868.46 million.

The commission made this known in a post on X, stating that Nwabuoku was prosecuted before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges related to money laundering.

“The former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, who was prosecuted by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for money laundering involving N868.46 million, has been convicted and sentenced to jail for 72 years,” the statement read.

Nwabuoku was appointed Acting Accountant-General of the Federation in May 2022 after the suspension of Ahmed Idris over an alleged N800 million fraud case. However, he was removed from the position just a few weeks later.

The EFCC arraigned him on January 15, 2025, on nine amended counts of money laundering. He was later granted bail set at N500 million, with two sureties in the same amount.

In one of the charges, the anti-graft agency alleged that Nwabuoku, alongside several companies—including Temero Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited—conspired to convert funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The alleged offence contravened Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and is punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

The EFCC also revealed that part of the offences involved the laundering of about N86 million during his time as Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.

According to the commission, the prosecution presented nine witnesses during the trial, including a staff member of Zenith Bank, Eucharia Ezeodi, and a director in the federal civil service, Felix Nweke.

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