Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted a former Chief of Air Staff, Mohammed Umar, guilty of diverting N66 million from the account of the Nigerian Air Force.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Umar in May 2016, alleging that the former air chief was involved in money laundering and procurement fraud, to the tune of about N66 million, while he was in office between 2010 and 2012.
Delivering judgement on Thursday, the judge held that there was nothing in the evidence of the prosecution linking Mr Umar to instructing the transfer of the said funds for the renovation of his private property in Abuja.
Dimgba said it would be dangerous to speculate on a wild assumption that Mr Umar must be aware of every financial transaction from the Nigeria Air Force bank account.
Ruling on the propriety of the evidence led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in February 2021, the judge dismissed six out of the seven charges initially lodged against Mr Umar by the anti-graft agency.
However, the judge ordered the former Air chief to refund the sum of N57 million to the Nigeria Air Force within seven working days.
The said funds was the actual amount used in refurbishing Umar’s private property in the Asokoro area of Abuja.
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