A former Accountant, Pensions department, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation of Nigeria, Garba Abdullahi Tahir, was on Friday, March 3, convicted and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for stealing N26.1 million meant for pensioners.
Tahir was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at a Federal High Court, Abuja on a seven-count amended charge that bordered on money laundering.
The case is a part of the billion naira pension fraud in the Office of the Head of Service of Federation, for which a number of civil servants were investigated over ten years ago, and charged to court by the EFCC.
The Head, Media and Advocacy, Wilson Uwujaren, revealed this in a statement on Friday.
He further noted that Tahir had pleaded not guilty to the charges upon arraignment. But the case went into the trial with the prosecution calling several witnesses and tendering documents in evidence.
Uwujaren said: “Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Inyang Ekwo said the prosecution had proved the case against the defendant and convicted him on all seven charges.
“The judge sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment on each of the seven counts. The sentences are however to run concurrently from April 3, 2023.”