Maj.-Gen. Umar Mohammed, a former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited, was found guilty and sentenced for theft and misappropriation of corporate funds by the Court of Appeal.
The appellate court denied Mohammed’s appeal against the Special Court Martial’s jurisdiction and the legality of its decision in the Certified True Copy of the ruling.
On October 10, 2023, Mohammed was found guilty by a Nigerian Army Special Court Martial of crimes involving the theft and criminal misappropriation of cash that belonged to Nigerian Army Properties Limited.
After being found guilty, he was forced to return $2,099,700 and ₦1.65 billion to the company, sentenced to prison, and expelled from the Nigerian Army.
On February 12, 2025, the former army officer, dissatisfied with the ruling, filed action number CA/ABJ/CR/383/2025 with the Court of Appeal, claiming that the conviction was unsupported by reliable evidence.
Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang, and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, the three justices on the panel, rejected the appeal.
The panel determined that the court martial’s evidence adequately proved the offenses.
The Special Court Martial was justified in rejecting Mohammed’s defense, according to the court’s ruling on Monday.
The justices characterized his testimony as contradictory and untrustworthy.
They pointed apparent inconsistencies in his assertion that Nigerian Army Properties Limited never provided berthing services, using his own written documentation to the contrary.
According to the court, these contradictions damaged his credibility.
The Special Court Martial’s conviction and imprisonment were later upheld by the appellate court on all counts other than forgery.
In a related incident, Mohammed and businessman Kayode Filani’s shares worth over ₦5 billion were ordered to be forfeited by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Lagos.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s application, which informed the court that the 245,568,137 shares were obtained with the proceeds of illegal actions carried out during Mohammed’s employment at NAPL, led to the order.
Hanatu Kofanaisa, the EFCC’s attorney, told the court that Mohammed had previously been found guilty of 14 out of 18 counts of theft and related offenses by the Special Court Martial.
She added that no objections had been raised, and the commission had complied with all legal criteria for final forfeiture, including the required newspaper notice.
Judge Dipeolu granted the application, ruling that the EFCC had proven its case and directing the Federal Government to permanently relinquish the shares in Nigerian Army Properties Limited’s favor.
Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act, 2006 and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution were the legal bases for the application.
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