A former Accountant, Pensions Account, Office of the Head of Service
of the Federation, Garba Abdullahi Tahir, has been convicted on Friday for
stealing N26.1 million meant for pensioners.
He was convicted and sentenced
to 21 years imprisonment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court,
Abuja.
The case is part of the
billion naira pension fraud in the Office of the Head of Service of the
Federation, for which a number of civil servants were investigated over ten
years ago, and charged to court.
Abdullahi was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission at a Federal High Court, Abuja on a seven count amended charge that
bordered on money laundering.
Count six reads: “That
you Garba Abdullahi Tahir (also known as Tahir Garba on or about the 12th
April, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court converted
the sum of N7,800,000.00 (Seven Million and Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) into
a bank draft or Manager’s Cheque in favour of CHARO Bureau de Change Ltd
through your bank account with Ecobank Plc, which sum represents part of the
proceeds of crime of criminal breach of trust committed by you in the Office of
the Head of Service of the Federation with the aim of concealing its illicit
origin and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)(a) of the
Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and punishable under section 14(1) of
the same Act”
He had pleaded not guilty to the charges upon arraignment and
the case went into trial with the prosecution calling several witnesses and
tendering documents in evidence.
Delivering judgment
today, Justice Inyang Ekwo said the prosecution had proved the case against the
defendant and convicted him on all seven charges.
The judge therefore
sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment on each of the seven
counts. The sentences are however to run concurrently.
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