N1.65bn, $2.09m Fraud: Appeal Court Upholds Conviction of Ex- Army General, Umar Mohammed

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By JUMOKE SANNI

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.