By Deborah Nnamdi
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Lukumanu Sani Waziri, an accountant at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, for corruption and abuse of office.
Waziri was found guilty of diverting public funds totaling over ₦60 million through unauthorized access to the Government Integrated Financial Information System (GIFMIS).
According to a statement by the ICPC, Waziri was arraigned alongside two others in 2021 before Justice M. Abdulgafar of the Federal High Court, Sokoto Division, on a nine-count charge of fraud and corruption.
During the trial, ICPC Prosecutor Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha presented evidence showing how Waziri, as a designated user of GIFMIS, altered financial records and facilitated the transfer of millions of naira into private accounts, including his own and of his accomplice, Monday Michael Adejo.
The commission further revealed that Waziri had unauthorizedly changed the bank account details for state taxes meant for Kogi, Edo, Bauchi, and Zamfara States. The diverted funds were fraudulently transferred to the First Bank account of Monday Adejo.
The charges read in part: “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 N6,127,465.75, N8,552,824.60, and N5,939,666.49 totaling N20,619,956.8 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 his judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Abdulgafar found Waziri guilty on seven out of the nine charges against him.
The court sentenced Waziri to the following terms: “One-year imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each on Counts 1 and 2; one-year imprisonment each on Counts 3, 4, and 5 without the option of a fine; and three years imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 each on Counts 8 and 9.”
The sentences are to run concurrently.
