Appeal Court Affirms Conviction Of Major General Umar Mohammed For N1.65bn & $2.09m Fraud

A three-member panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal, Justice Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang and Eberechi Nyesom have affirmed the conviction and sentence of former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Maj.-Gen. Umar Mohammed, for offences bordering on theft and misappropriation of company funds.

In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court dismissed Mohammed’s appeal challenging the authority of the Nigerian Army’s Special Court Martial and the legitimacy of its decision. The Court Martial had on October 10, 2023 convicted him for offences of stealing and criminal misappropriation of funds belonging to NAPL. The court also sentenced him to years of imprisonment and ordered him to refund $2,099,700 and N1.65 billion to the NAPL.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court Martial, he approached the appellate court, claiming that the conviction was not supported by credible and sufficient evidence.

Delivering judgment on Monday, the Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling of the Special Court Martial, stressing that it was justified in dismissing the former general’s defence, describing it as inconsistent and unreliable.

The appellate court addressed contradictions in Mohammed’s testimony, particularly his claim that NAPL never operated berthing services, which contradicted documentary records where he indicated that the company actually engaged in such operations. To this end, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the Special Court Martial on all counts except those related to forgery.

In another development, in August 2025, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of shares valued at more than N5 billion traced to Mohammed and a businessman, Kayode Filani.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had filed an application to the effect that 245,568,137 shares were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities carried out during Mohammed’s time as head of the army’s property company.

EFCC counsel, Hanatu Kofanaisa, told the court that the EFCC had satisfied all legal conditions required for final forfeiture, including the mandatory publication in newspapers, without any objections being raised. Besides, she further told the court that a Special Court Martial had earlier convicted Mohammed on 14 out of 18 counts bordering on stealing and related offences.

Ruling on the application, Justice Dipeolu held that the EFCC had sufficiently proved its case and ordered that the shares be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of NAPL.