Appeal court upholds conviction of ex-Army general Umar Mohammed over N1.65bn, $2.09m fraud

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal has 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.

The panel, comprising Justices Abba Mohammed, Okon Abang and Eberechi Nyesom, delivered a unanimous ruling dismissing Mohammed’s appeal which challenged the authority of the Nigerian Army’s Special Court Martial and the legitimacy of its decision.

The Special Court Martial had on October 10, 2023, convicted the former general of stealing and criminal misappropriation of funds belonging to NAPL. He was subsequently sentenced to prison and ordered to refund $2,099,700 and N1.65 billion to the army’s property company.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, Mohammed approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that his conviction was not supported by credible and sufficient evidence.

However, delivering judgment on Monday, the appellate court upheld the findings of the Special Court Martial, stating that the tribunal was right to reject the defence put forward by the former army officer.

The court described Mohammed’s defence as inconsistent and unreliable, pointing to contradictions in his testimony during the trial.

One of the key issues raised by the appellate court was Mohammed’s claim that NAPL never operated berthing services. The court noted that this assertion contradicted documentary records in which the former general had earlier indicated that the company was engaged in such operations.

Based on the inconsistencies, the appellate court upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the Special Court Martial on all counts except those relating to forgery.

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

The shares—totalling 245,568,137—were alleged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities carried out during Mohammed’s tenure as head of the army’s property company.

EFCC counsel, Hanatu Kofanaisa, told the court that the anti-graft agency had complied with all legal requirements for final forfeiture, including the mandatory publication of the application in national newspapers without any objections from interested parties.

She further informed the court that Mohammed had earlier been convicted by a Special Court Martial on 14 out of 18 counts bordering on stealing and related offences.

In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu held that the EFCC had sufficiently established its case and consequently ordered that the shares be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of NAPL.