ICPC secures seven-year jail term for ex-health ministry official over N29.9m fraud

By Johnson Arua

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has secured the conviction of a former Principal Stock Verifier at the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Williams Oluwole, for issuing a false certificate that facilitated the payment of N29.9 million for pharmaceutical products that had not been supplied.

Oluwole was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, after being found guilty of knowingly furnishing false statements in the discharge of his official duties.

The Head of Media and Public Communications of the ICPC, Okor Odey, disclosed this in a statement, explaining that the commission prosecuted the former official on a two-count charge bordering on the falsification of official records.

The convict was accused of issuing a Stock Verification Certificate of Completion in favour of Mubaraq Pharmacy Limited in May 2015, falsely certifying that certain pharmaceutical products had been supplied when the items had yet to arrive in Nigeria.

During the trial, the prosecution established that Oluwole issued Stock Verification Certificate of Completion No. CA 0329, which facilitated the payment of N29,996,120 to the pharmaceutical company for the purported supply of 5,113 Ribavirin injections and 5,681 Globavirin tablets.

The court held that the products covered by the certificate had not been supplied at the time Oluwole certified their receipt, thereby creating the false impression that the contractor had fulfilled its contractual obligations and was entitled to payment.

In Count One of Charge No. CR/94/2017, the ICPC accused Oluwole of knowingly furnishing a false statement in his capacity as Principal Stock Verifier at the Federal Ministry of Health by issuing the certificate that facilitated payment for the undelivered products.

The offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 16 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The second count bordered on making a false statement to the then Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute, contrary to Section 25(1)(a) of the same Act.

The commission prosecuted the case through its counsel, N. J. Onwuka, Esq., who appeared alongside P. N. Emeka, Esq., while the defendant was represented by Abubakar Adamu, Esq.

Delivering judgment, Justice Halilu found Oluwole guilty and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on Count One. The court also imposed a fine of N100,000 on Count Two.

The judge further directed that the convict serve his prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.

The conviction highlights the criminal consequences of falsifying official records and certification documents in public procurement, particularly where such actions facilitate payments for goods that have not been delivered and undermine accountability in the management of public funds.