The Court of Appeal of Nigeria has affirmed the conviction and sentencing of former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Umar Mohammed, a Major-General, for offences involving the theft and misappropriation of company funds.
In the Certified True Copy of the judgment, the appellate court dismissed Mohammed’s appeal challenging the authority of the Nigerian Army’s Special Court Martial and the validity of its decision.
Mohammed was earlier tried and convicted by the Special Court Martial on October 10, 2023 for offences bordering on stealing and criminal misappropriation of funds belonging to Nigerian Army Properties Limited. Following the conviction, the former senior officer was dismissed from the Nigerian Army, sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to refund $2,099,700 and ₦1.65 billion to the company.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Mohammed filed an appeal on February 12, 2025 in suit number CA/ABJ/CR/383/2025, arguing that the conviction was not supported by credible and sufficient evidence.
However, a three-member panel of the appellate court comprising Justices Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike dismissed the appeal, holding that the evidence presented before the court martial sufficiently established the offences.
According to the judgment, the court found that the Special Court Martial was justified in rejecting the former general’s defence, describing it as inconsistent and unreliable.
The appellate court noted contradictions in Mohammed’s testimony, particularly his claim that Nigerian Army Properties Limited never operated berthing services. This assertion conflicted with documentary evidence authored by him indicating that the company actually engaged in such operations.
The justices held that these inconsistencies undermined his credibility before the tribunal.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the Special Court Martial on all counts except those relating to forgery.
Meanwhile, in August 2025, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of shares valued at more than ₦5 billion traced to Mohammed and a businessman, Kayode Filani.
The order followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which informed the court that the 245,568,137 shares were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly carried out during Mohammed’s tenure as head of the army’s property company.
EFCC counsel, Hanatu Kofanaisa, told the court that the Special Court Martial had earlier convicted Mohammed on 14 out of 18 counts bordering on stealing and related offences.
She further explained that the commission complied with all legal requirements for the final forfeiture of the assets, including the mandatory publication in newspapers, without any objections from interested parties.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Dipeolu held that the EFCC had sufficiently established its case and ordered that the shares be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of Nigerian Army Properties Limited.
The application was brought pursuant to Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.