A court in Imo State has sentenced former Commissioner for Transport under the Rochas Okorocha administration, Laz Okoroafor-Anyanwu, to three years imprisonment.
The High Court sitting in Owerri found Okoroafor-Anyanwu guilty of a three-count charge of fraud, looting public funds and stealing.
In his judgement, Justice K.A Lewanya, says Okoroafor-Anyanwudiverted N180 million of state funds into a private company account where he is a major shareholder and sole signatory when he superintendent and doubled as Commissioner for Transport and the Chairman Interim Committee of the Imo State Transport Company – ITC.
The offence, according Justice Lewanya, is against Section 12 and 19 of the ICPC Act 2020.
The Judge also said that Okoroafor-Anyanwu was guilty of violating the Public Procurement Act, abuse of office, and using his office to gain undue advantage in his dealings during his tenure as a commissioner and ITC chairman.
He said that the prosecuting counsel,Barrister Michael Ani
was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that when Okoroafor-Anyanwu was commissioner between 2015 and 2019, he transferred the sum of N100 million from the ITC account to his private company named Oma Oil Industries Limited which is against Section 12 and 19 of the ICPC Act 2020 for a Public Servant.
The judge added that Okoroafor-Anyanwu also signed off another N80 million from government coffers directly to his private company account on the notion that he was to procure certain vehicles for the management of ITC without due process and recourse to the public procurement act.