A retired Director of Finance and Administration with the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr. Garuba Duku, has been sentenced to 24 years imprisonment for corruption and money laundering totaling ₦318,250,000.
The conviction was secured by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment, finding Duku guilty on all six counts of the charge brought against him by the ICPC. Duku was sentenced to four years imprisonment on each count, with the sentences set to run concurrently. The judge also offered an alternative fine equivalent to five times the amount involved in each count, totaling approximately ₦1.6 billion.
Gross Abuse of Public Trust
ICPC investigations revealed that between 2012 and 2013, Duku fraudulently diverted the sum of ₦318.25 million belonging to the AMMC into his personal Fidelity Bank account. The funds were received in multiple installments and later channeled to Bureau de Change operators for unauthorized purposes.
ICPC prosecutors told the court that Duku’s actions constituted “a clear abuse of public trust” and violated government financial regulations. Duku’s defense claim that he had remitted the funds to his superiors was dismissed by the court due to a lack of evidence.
In his ruling, Justice Omotosho held that “The prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” adding that the evidence presented by the ICPC “was credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish the offences charged.”
Reacting to the judgment, the ICPC described the conviction as a major victory in the commission’s fight against corruption. The commission affirmed that the judgment “underscores ICPC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that public officers who betray the trust reposed in them are brought to justice.”
