Drama as Buhari's Accountant General begs for time to repay embezzled N1.6bn

• A former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Anamekwe Nwabuoku and his co-defendant, Felix Nweke are facing 11 counts of money laundering to the tune of N1.6bn
• Nwabuoku has pleaded with the Federal High Court in Abuja to give him more time to refund the looted funds
• Maduakolam Igwe, who appeared for Nwabuoku said the first defendant has also made some refunds

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

FCT, Abuja - A former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has pleaded with the Federal High Court in Abuja to give him more time to refund the public funds allegedly looted by him and his co-defendant, Felix Nweke.

Nwabuoku made this appeal while facing 11 counts of money laundering to the tune of N1.6bn before Justice James Omotoso on Wednesday, July 10.

Nwabuoku was appointed acting AGoF on May 20, 2022 Photo credit: @Omoluabiododo
Source: Twitter

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused Nwabuoku of having committed the crime while serving as the Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021, The Punch reports.

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Nwabuoku took over the office under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari after Ahmed Idris was suspended as AGF over alleged N80bn fraud.

Maduakolam Igwe, who appeared for Nwabuoku, said his client had equally taken the same steps and that a substantial amount had been refunded.

Nweke’s lawyer, Emeka Onyeaka, had earlier told the court that his client had made substantial refunds of the money traced to him by the EFCC.

Onyeaka prayed the court to grant them an adjournment to take further steps on the administrative procedure.

Public servants redirect unspent budget to personal account

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede accused certain public servants in ministries and agencies of diverting unspent budget allocations to private accounts.

Olukoyede criticized the pervasive theft by corrupt individuals, especially the misappropriation of unspent allocations within government agencies.

He expressed confidence that the EFCC's preventive measures would help combat corruption and ensure better governance in Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng