N1.65BN & $2.09M FRAUD: COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS CONVICTION OF EX-ARMY GENERAL UMAR MOHAMMED
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Agency Report
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal justices, Justices Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang, and Eberechi Nyesom, has affirmed the conviction and sentence of former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Maj.-Gen. Umar Mohammed, for theft and misappropriation of company funds.
The appellate court unanimously dismissed Mohammed’s appeal, which had challenged the authority of the Nigerian Army’s Special Court Martial and the legitimacy of its October 10, 2023 ruling. The Special Court Martial had convicted him for stealing and criminal misappropriation of company funds, sentencing him to several years of imprisonment and ordering him to refund $2,099,700 and N1.65 billion to NAPL.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the Court of Appeal stated that the former general’s defence was inconsistent and unreliable. The court highlighted contradictions in Mohammed’s testimony, particularly his claim that NAPL never operated berthing services, which conflicted with company records indicating such operations. Consequently, the appellate court upheld the conviction and sentence on all counts except those related to forgery.
In a related development, in August 2025, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of shares valued at over N5 billion traced to Mohammed and businessman Kayode Filani.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had applied to the court, stating that 245,568,137 shares were acquired with proceeds from unlawful activities during Mohammed’s tenure as head of NAPL. EFCC counsel, Hanatu Kofanaisa, confirmed that all legal requirements for forfeiture, including mandatory public notice, were met and no objections were raised.
Justice Dipeolu ruled that the EFCC had sufficiently proven its case and ordered the shares to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of NAPL, reinforcing the earlier convictions and recovery of misappropriated funds.
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