Two prosecution witnesses on Friday gave details of how a former acting Accountant General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe, opened and used multiple bank accounts to steal funds belonging to the Federal Ministry of Defence.
The witnesses narrated this in their separate testimonies at the Federal High Court in Abuja where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Anamekwe on nine counts of money laundering involving about N868.5 million.
In the charges filed in May 2024 and later amended from 11 to nine counts, EFCC accused Mr Anamekwe of perpetrating the alleged fraud while serving in the defence ministry as Director, Finance and Account, between 2019 and 2021. This was prior to his appointment as acting Accountant-General of the Federation in May 2022. He served only about two months in the acting capacity before his removal in July 2022.
EFCC shared a statement with PREMIUM TIMES capturing details of Friday’s proceedings.
Witnesses testify
EFCC opened trial against the defendant with two prosecution witnesses testifying on Friday.
The witnesses were led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer Ekele Iheanacho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The first prosecution witness, Eucharia Ezeobi, a Zenith Bank staff official, said she opened accounts meant for contractors with the Federal Ministry of Defence, namely: Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited.
She further stated that a significant portion of the funds in the accounts was withdrawn in cash, alleging that the defendant personally benefited from these transactions.
The accounts opening packages, marked Exhibits PWB were identified by the witness when shown to her on request by the defence lawyer, Isidore Udenko.
On his part, the second prosecution witness, Felix Nweke, who was the Deputy Director, Account and Expenditure under the supervision of Mr Nwabuoku as the Director Finance and Account, Ministry of Defence, told the court that the defendant instructed him to open the four companies’ accounts.
Mr. Nweke, originally the second defendant, became a prosecution witness after an amendment to the charges removed his name as a defendant.”
He told the court on Friday that Mr Nwabuoku moved funds from the Federal Ministry of Defence Security Operation Account to the bank accounts set up for the four companies named by the first prosecution witness.
He testified further that funds in the accounts were usually withdrawn in cash and handed over to the defendant, corroborating the bank official’s earlier testimony.
The defence lawyer sought to know from the witness if the withdrawals were initiated by the defendant alone or if there was an authority higher than him. Responding, the witness said that he only took instructions from the defendant, who was his boss in the ministry’s chain of command.
Trial judge James Omotosho scheduled further hearings for 26 February and 5 March.
Plea bargain talks break down
The commencement of the trial on Friday shows that the plea agreement talks reportedly underway last year have broken down.
An EFCC lawyer, Ogechi Ujam, informed the trial judge, Mr Omotosho, during a hearing in October last year that Mr Nwabuoku and his then co-defendant, Felix Nweke, submitted a proposal for settlement.
She said the defendants submitted their proposals to the EFCC’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for approval.
The defence lawyers in attendance admitted opting for a plea bargain on behalf of their clients.
The lawyers on both sides of the case asked for a date to submit a plea bargain agreement and amended charges to the court.
Mr Omotosho subsequently adjourned the matter until 2 December 2024.
But with trial commencing on Friday, it means the plea agreement never materialized.
About the defendant
Mr Nwabuoku was appointed acting Accountant-General of the Federation on 20 May 2022 under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari after Ahmed Idris was suspended from office over alleged N80 billion fraud.
He was, however, removed in July 2022, a few weeks after assuming office.
Sylva Okolieaboh, a Director at the Treasury Single Account (TSA) Department, replaced Nwabuoku as acting Accountant-General of the Federation.
Mr Okolieaboh’s appointment followed a report that Mr Nwabuoku was under the radar of EFCC over corruption allegations.
