The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Garuba Duku, a retired Director of Finance and Administration with the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), over a ₦318 million fraud.
In a judgment 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 offenses were committed between 2012 and 2013 when Duku allegedly diverted ₦318,250,000 belonging to AMMC into his personal account with Fidelity Bank Plc.
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Bakare explained that investigations revealed the funds were received in several installments—₦56.25 million, ₦71 million, ₦53 million, ₦54 million, ₦46 million, and ₦36.3 million—and later transferred to Bureau de Change operators for unauthorized transactions.
The court was informed:“ICPC prosecutors told the court that the transactions violated government financial regulations and that Duku’s actions were a clear abuse of public trust,”
During the trial, Duku claimed 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 the sentences set to run concurrently.
The court also included an option of a fine equivalent to five times the amount involved in each count, totaling about ₦1.6 billion.
Reacting to the verdict, Bakare hailed the judgment, stating:“This judgment underscores ICPC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that public officers who betray the trust reposed in them are brought to justice,”
“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.”
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