The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted a former Chief of Air Staff, Mohammed Umar, of diversion of N66 million from the account of the Nigerian Air Force.
Mr Umar, a retired air chief marshal, battled one count of money laundering involving 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.
Delivering judgement on the case on Thursday, the judge, Nnamdi Dimgba, held that the prosecution failed to provide any evidence that Mr Umar gave the instruction for the transfer of the said funds for the renovation of his private property in Abuja.
Mr 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.
The judge had earlier in February 2021 dismissed six out of the seven charges initially lodged against Mr Umar by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, the judge ordered the former Air Force chief to refund the sum of N57 million to the Nigeria Air Force within seven working days.
The money was the actual amount used in refurbishing Mr Umar’s private property at Asokoro area of Abuja.
Details later…
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