The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday overturned the acquittal of a former Chief of Air Staff (COAS), Mohammed Umar, in a money laundring case involving alleged diversion of N4.8 billion from the account of the Nigerian Air Force
A three-member panel of the court led by Elfrieda Williams–Dawodu ordered Mr Umar to return for trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court specifically ordered Mr Umar to proceed to enter his defence to five charges – Counts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 – of which he was previously acquitted by the trial court.
EFCC had in 2016 arraigned Mr Umar on seven charges of money laundering, accusing him of diverting about N4.8 billion from account of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) during his time as the Chief of Air Staff between 2010 and 2012.
After the prosecution closed its case with 12 witnesses, the defendant filed a no case-submission urging the court to dismiss all the seven counts on the grounds that the evidence led by the prosecution did not link him to the offences.
The EFCC, through its lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, opposed the no-case submission and urged the court to direct the defendant to proceed to give his defence.
But, the court in its ruling delivered in February 2021 gave a partial victory to Mr Umar by dismissing six of the seven charges filed against him. It ruled that there was no sufficient evidence led by the prosecution to warrant calling on the defendant to defend himself regarding Counts 1 to 6.
The judge, Nnamdi Dimgba, said his review of the evidence led by the prosecution revealed “considerable doubts, cloud of mystery, and general contradictions and discrepancies”.
He said there were unresolved questions on how EFCC arrived at the N4.8 billion allegedly converted fraudulently by the defendant, and “what was its proper application.”
He ruled that the EFCC only made out a case against Mr Umar with respect to only Count 7.
Mr Dimgba then ordered the defendant to enter his defence to the money laundering charge in Count 7. The charge involved N66 million allegedly stolen from the account of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) during his time as the Chief of Air Force between 2010 and 2012.
The EFCC went on an appeal against the decision delivered on 21 February, 2021.
But while the EFCC was pursuing the appeal, the trial continued at the Federal High Court with the defendant entering the witness box to offer his defence to the only remaining charge.
At the end of the trial, the judge, on 17 March, acquitted the former Chief of Air Staff of the remaining Count 7.
This decision completed the partial acquittal earlier handed down to Mr Umar in the court’s no-case submission ruling in February 2021.
But on Thursday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja reversed the trial judge’s decision on five of the six charges he dismissed in February last year.
With exception to Count 4, the Court of Appeal overturned the trial court’s decision on the Counts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Contrary to the trial judge’s decision, the Court of Appeal held that EFCC led evidence that sufficiently linked Mr Umar to the five charges to warrant directing him to open his defence.
The court therefore ordered the defendant to return to the Federal High Court to defend himself with regard to thr Counts 1,2,3,5 and 6.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has also filed an appeal against the 17 March judgement of the court which handed down an acquittal to the defendant on Count 7, the only charge on which a full trial was conducted.
But the appeal has yet to come up for hearing at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The prosecution alleged that Mr Umar diverted over N4.8 billion from the Nigerian Air Force’s account and used the funds to acquire property in choice areas of Abuja and other places.
It said the defendant used part of the funds fraudulently removed from NAF’s account to acquire the property at Plot No. 1853, Deng Xiano Ping street, Off Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro Extension, Abuja.
It also alleged that part of the funds was also used by the defendant to purchase a residential property comprising four-bedroom duplex, with boys’ quarters at Road 3B, Street 2, Mabushi, Ministers Hill, Abuja.
The EFCC said the defendant used part of the proceeds of fraud to acquire the property at 14 Audu Bako Way, GRA, Kano and a three-bedroom duplex with three-room boys’ quarters at No. 8 Kabala Road, Unguwan Rimi, GRA, Kaduna.
It will be recalled that Mr Umar’s successor as Chief of Air Staff, the late Alex Badeh, who later became the Chief of Defence Staff, was also standing trial on similar charges until his death in 2019.
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