A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday, July 10, 2026, dismissed the bail application filed by the convicted former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, for lack of merit.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, had on Monday, March 23, 2026, convicted and sentenced Nwabuoku to 72 years’ imprisonment at the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, Abuja, for laundering ₦868,465,000 (Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand Naira). He subsequently appealed the judgment and sought to be admitted to bail on health grounds pending the determination of the appeal.
Consequently, on May 8, 2026, Nwabuoku, through his lawyer, N. I. Quakers, SAN, filed an application for bail on the ground of his alleged ill health, which he claimed had deteriorated, necessitating medical attention beyond what the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, designated to provide medical care for inmates of the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, could offer.
In the application, Nwabuoku stated that he was a responsible citizen who had served as the Acting Accountant-General of the Federation and that he had credible sureties who could stand for his bail.
Counsel to the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, in response, filed a counter-affidavit on May 25, 2026, arguing that the offences for which the appellant was convicted were serious in nature, having involved massive corruption that hindered the government’s efforts to combat the pervasive insecurity facing the country.
The EFCC further argued that there was no medical evidence before the court to show that the appellant could not continue receiving treatment, including surgery, at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital while serving his sentence. According to the prosecution, the fact that the appellant had been transferred between the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for medical evaluation demonstrated that the Nigerian Correctional Service had been responsive to his medical needs and had not denied him access to medical care.
The EFCC also argued that granting the appellant bail pending the determination of his appeal would undermine public confidence in the administration of criminal justice.
“Granting bail to the Appellant/Applicant in the circumstances of this case would send a wrong signal to the public and undermine confidence in the fight against corruption, money laundering and the misuse of public funds earmarked for national security,” the prosecution submitted.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, who read the decision of the panel, held that the application lacked merit and accordingly dismissed it.
