Ex-Army General Seeks Supreme Court Review Of Misappropriation Conviction

A former Major General in the Nigerian Army, Umaru Mohammed, has approached the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld his conviction and sentence for misappropriating funds belonging to Nigerian Army Properties Limited.

The former senior officer was earlier convicted on October 10, 2023, by a Special Court Martial sitting at the Nigerian Army Headquarters Garrison for offences bordering on stealing and criminal misappropriation of the company’s funds.

Mohammed was dismissed from the army, sentenced to imprisonment, and ordered to refund $2,099,700 and N1,650,172,000 to the company.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, he approached the Court of Appeal on February 12, 2025, in a suit marked CA/ABJ/CR/383/2025, arguing that his conviction was not supported by sufficient and credible evidence.

However, in the Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained by our correspondent on Monday, the appellate court dismissed Mohammed’s appeal challenging both the jurisdiction of the Special Court Martial and the validity of its verdict.

The three-member appellate panel comprising Justices Abba Bello Mohammed, Okon Efreti Abang, and Eberechi Suzzette Nyeson-Wike held that the evidence presented during the court martial clearly established the offences for which the former general was convicted.

The court also ruled that the Special Court Martial was right to reject Mohammed’s defence, describing it as inconsistent and unreliable.

Consequently, the appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the court-martial on all counts except those relating to forgery.

“In this case, the Appellant has failed to demonstrate how the judgment of the Special Court Martial is against the weight of the evidence adduced. In consequence, I resolve issue 6 against the Appellant.

“From the foregoing, this appeal only partially succeeds in relation to issue 2 which it fails on all the other five issues. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows:

“(i) The conviction and sentence of the Appellant for the offence of conspiracy to commit forgery and forgery in counts 7 and 8 are hereby set aside for want of jurisdiction, same having been instituted after the three-year limitation period in Section 169(1)(a) of the Armed Forces Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

“(ii) The conviction and sentence of the Appellant for the offences in all the other counts of the Amended Charge is hereby affirmed,” the judgment partly read.

However, in a statement on Monday, Mohammed described his trial as unfair.

“An appeal has been filed at the Supreme Court to set aside part of the judgment of the Court of Appeal and to nullify the judgment of the Special Court Martial,” the statement added.

Mohammed also questioned attempts by the Nigerian Army to enforce certain orders related to accounts linked to his Bank Verification Number, claiming that the court martial did not issue such directives or any consequential restitution orders.