The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has successfully obtained a conviction against the accountant at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto, Lukumanu Sani Waziri, over alleged charges of corruption and abuse of office.
Waziri was adjudged guilty of misappropriating public funds exceeding ₦60 million by unlawfully accessing the Government Integrated Financial Information System (GIFMIS).
As reported by the ICPC, Waziri was brought to trial in 2021 alongside two co-defendants before Justice M. Abdulgafar at the Federal High Court, Sokoto Division, facing a total of nine charges related to fraud and corruption.
Throughout the proceedings, ICPC Prosecutor, Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, presented compelling evidence demonstrating that Waziri, in his capacity as an authorized user of GIFMIS, manipulated financial records and enabled the transfer of substantial sums into private accounts, including his own and that of his accomplice, Monday Michael Adejo.
Additionally, the commission disclosed that Waziri had unlawfully modified the bank account information for state taxes intended for Kogi, Edo, Bauchi, and Zamfara States. The misappropriated funds were illicitly transferred to the First Bank account belonging to Monday Adejo.
One of the charges read: “That you, LUKUMANU SANI WAZIRI (M), and Monday Michael Adejo (M), sometime in April 2020, conspired amongst yourselves to take possession of the sums of ₦6,127,465.75, ₦8,552,824.60, and ₦5,939,666.49 totaling ₦20,619,956.8 from the Government Integrated Financial Information System into the First Bank Account of Monday Michael Adejo, which reasonably ought to have known that such funds form part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, namely: corruption and fraud.”
In a ruling on Friday, January 17, Justice Abdulgafar determined that Waziri was guilty of seven of the nine allegations brought against him.
The court imposed the following penalties on Waziri: “One year of imprisonment or a fine of ₦200,000 for Counts 1 and 2; one year of imprisonment for Counts 3, 4, and 5 without the possibility of a fine; and three years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦500,000 for Counts 8 and 9.”
The sentences are to be served concurrently.