The court of appeal has affirmed the conviction of Umar Mohammed, former group managing director of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), for stealing funds belonging to the company.
According to NAN, the three-member panel of the appeal court dismissed Mohammed’s appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the special court martial to convict him.
The three justices are Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike,
On October 10, 2023, Mohammed was convicted by a court martial for offences bordering on stealing and criminal misappropriation of funds belonging to the NAPL.
The court martial found Mohammed guilty of 14 out of the 18 count charges and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment.
He was dismissed from the Nigerian army and ordered to refund $2,099,700 and N1.65 billion to the company.
Following the judgment, the ex-army officer approached the appeal court in February 2025, citing that the conviction was not supported by sufficient and credible evidence.
The appeal court held that the ruling of the special court martial rejecting the defence of the officer was correct, adding that the defence was inconsistent and unreliable.
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The appeal court ruled that the contradictions in Mohammed’s testimony, particularly his claim that NAPL never operated berthing services, contradicted records authored by him.
The court held that the inconsistencies in Mohammed’s defence undermined his credibility.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the court martial, including the refund of the stolen funds.
In August 2025, a federal high court in Lagos granted the final forfeiture of 245,568,137 shares, valued at over N5 billion, linked to Mohammed and Kayode Filani, a businessman.
The anti-graft commission had claimed that the shares were purchased with the proceeds of crime.
