Reported by: Agande Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Henry Owen
ABUJA, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Mr. Garuba Duku, a retired Director of Finance and Administration at the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), to 24 years in prison for diverting ₦318 million in public funds.
The sentence was announced on Thursday by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with its Director of Public Enlightenment and Education, Mr. Demola Bakare, confirming the conviction.
Duku faced a six-count charge of corruption and money laundering, filed under suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/608/2022. Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the case, found him guilty on all counts after the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Investigations revealed that between 2012 and 2013, Duku transferred ₦318,250,000 belonging to AMMC into his personal Fidelity Bank account. The funds were received in multiple tranches — ₦56.25 million, ₦71 million, ₦53 million, ₦54 million, ₦46 million, and ₦36.3 million — and subsequently laundered through Bureau de Change operators.
During trial, Duku claimed the money was sent to his superiors, but the court dismissed the defence as unsubstantiated. Justice Omotosho described the prosecution’s evidence as “credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish the offences charged.”
The court sentenced Duku to four years’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, or an alternative fine of approximately ₦1.6 billion, five times the total amount involved.
ICPC spokesperson Bakare praised the ruling, describing it as a significant milestone in the agency’s fight against corruption and financial misconduct in the public sector.
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