Ex-FCTA Director Jailed 24 Years Over ₦318m Fraud

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of a retired Director of Finance and Administration with the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Garuba Duku, over a ₦318 million fraud.

In a judgement delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Duku was sentenced to 24 years in prison after being found guilty on a six-count charge bordering on corruption and money laundering.

According to a statement released on Thursday by the ICPC’s Director of Public Enlightenment and Education, Demola Bakare, the offences were committed between 2012 and 2013 when Duku allegedly diverted ₦318,250,000 belonging to AMMC into his personal account with Fidelity Bank Plc.

Bakare explained that investigations revealed the funds were received in several instalments, ₦56.25 million, ₦71 million, ₦53 million, ₦54 million, ₦46 million, and ₦36.3 million and later transferred to Bureau de Change operators for unauthorised transactions.

“ICPC prosecutors told the court that the transactions violated government financial regulations and that Duku’s actions were a clear abuse of public trust,” the statement read.

During the trial, Duku claimed that he handed the funds over to his superiors, but the court dismissed the defence for lack of evidence.

In his ruling, Justice Omotosho held that “the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt”, describing the ICPC’s evidence as “credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish the offences charged.”

Consequently, the judge sentenced Duku to four years imprisonment on each of the six counts, with an option of fine equivalent to five times the amount involved in each count amounting to about ₦1.6 billion. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Reacting to the verdict, Bakare hailed the judgement as a significant win in the Commission’s anti-corruption drive.

“This judgment underscores ICPC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that public officers who betray the trust reposed in them are brought to justice,” he said.

“No one entrusted with public funds is above the law, and this conviction sends a strong message that corruption will not go unpunished.”

Bakare added that the Commission would continue to pursue all cases of graft with “diligence and professionalism” to safeguard public resources.

The ICPC, established in 2000, is one of Nigeria’s foremost anti-corruption agencies empowered to investigate and prosecute cases of financial misconduct under the ICPC Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

This latest conviction adds to the Commission’s growing record of successful prosecutions. In May 2024, it secured the conviction of Christopher Oluchukwu, a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Commandant, for defrauding job seekers. Similarly, in May 2019, a former ICPC board nominee, Dr. Saad Alanamu, and Salman Sulaiman, were sentenced to 24 years imprisonment for bribery-related offences.