“N355 Million Deposited At Nwabuoku’s Instruction” — ICPC Investigator Testifies Against Ex-Acting AGF

A prosecution witness on Monday recounted how a former Director of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Defence, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku—who later served briefly as the acting Accountant-General of the Federation—allegedly diverted ministry funds through a series of large cash withdrawals.

Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Mr. Nwabuoku is facing money laundering charges, Gudi Johnson, an investigator with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), narrated how the defendant deposited the diverted funds into various company accounts.

According to Johnson, his team wrote to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the banks involved during the investigation.

He said the analysis of CAC reports and bank statements revealed inflows of funds from the Ministry of Defence into several private companies.

“We commenced an interview with him. He was cautioned, and his statement was taken both virtually and physically. We showed him all the payments we discovered. He explained that the funds were from quarterly releases by the federal government to the ministry for security operations,” Johnson, the ninth prosecution witness, told the court.

“Our analysis showed that as soon as the funds were deposited into the accounts, they were withdrawn and diverted by Gideon Joseph. The cash was then deposited by Gideon into the account of M. Daddy’s Ltd.”

He further testified that a man named Jerry Nwachukwu told investigators that the money was deposited at the instruction of Mr. Nwabuoku, and that N355 million was involved. The defendant, however, had earlier claimed that his personal interest in the funds amounted to only N100 million.

“Another N150 million was also traced from M. Daddy’s account to Quantum Zenith Ltd.,” Johnson said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr. Nwabuoku on nine counts of money laundering involving about N868.5 million.

In charges filed in May 2024—later amended from 11 to nine counts—the EFCC accused Mr. Nwabuoku of perpetrating the alleged fraud between 2019 and 2021 while serving as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence.

He allegedly committed the offences prior to his appointment as acting Accountant-General of the Federation in May 2022. He held the position for only about two months before being removed in July 2022.

Mr. Johnson also testified that the investigation was triggered by an intelligence report from the Ministry of Defence, which flagged suspicious transactions involving companies such as Trans Afro Limited, Torch Global Limited, and Teemell Limited.

“We discovered that one Gideon Joseph was listed as a director in these companies,” he said.

“We tried to trace him through the addresses listed—Louis Street in Maitama and another in Kubwa—but the letters could not be delivered. We then went to the Ministry of Defence and invited the Director of Accounts, Mr. Felix, who told us he acted on directives from the Director of Finance—the defendant.”

Other individuals were also invited for questioning, and they reportedly said they withdrew the funds at the instruction of the defendant and deposited them into the accounts of Teemell, Torch Global, and Transactional Afro Nig. Ltd.

“When asked about the source and purpose of the funds, the defendant claimed they were for classified security operations. On that basis, we wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the witness added.

He said all relevant documents were submitted to ONSA for further clarification.

“A committee was later constituted, including retired NSA Babagana Monguno, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, myself, Bellozi Adama from EFCC, among others. We were mandated to investigate the matter thoroughly,” Johnson said.

He further disclosed that N13 million was traced to El Salen Ltd for a property purchase, and another N10 million was used to buy a power generator.

“We obtained records from City Gate Homes showing that a property worth N65 million was linked to the defendant. We confronted him, stating that these were proceeds of crime and must be recovered. We inspected the house at City Gate Homes and seized the keys,” he told the court.