A former Director of Finance and Administration at the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Mr. Garba Mohammed Dukku, will remain in custodial custody following the dismissal of his bail application by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
​Dukku, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for diverting ₦319 million in public funds, had filed an application seeking temporary release pending the outcome of his main appeal against his conviction.
A three-judge panel led the ruling, stating that post-conviction bail is reserved strictly for exceptional circumstances, which the applicant failed to prove. To avoid prolonged detention during the process, the court ordered an accelerated hearing on the main appeal challenging the original conviction.
Representatives from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) welcomed the decision, maintaining that public funds theft must carry firm consequences.
​The initial conviction was delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, under suit FHC/ABJ/CR/608/2022.
​The ICPC proved during the trial that between 2012 and 2013, Dukku diverted ₦318,250,000 belonging to the AMMC into a private account at Fidelity Bank, subsequently moving the funds through Bureau de Change operators. The court rejected Dukku’s claim that the funds were disbursed to higher officials due to a total lack of supporting documentation.
​Justice Omotosho handed down a four-year sentence on each of the six counts to run cumulatively (24 years total), alongside an option of a ₦1.6 billion fine.
