Former accountant bags 21 years imprisonment for stealing N26.1 million meant for pensioners

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, convicted and sentenced a former Accountant in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr Garba Abdullahi Tahir, to 21 years in prison for stealing pension funds totalling about N26.1 million.

Tahir was the pension accountant when Mr Stephen Oronsaye was the HoS between 2009 and 2010. Trial Justice Inyang Ekwo found the defendant who was formerly in charge of pension accounts, guilty of a seven-count charge the EFCC preferred against him. The court said it was satisfied that the anti-graft agency proved its case against the defendant, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Consequently, it sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment on each of the seven counts. Justice Ekwo held that the sentence would run concurrently, starting from April 3.