Appeal Court Affirms 3-year Jail Term For Ex-Imo Commissioner Over N180m Fraud

The Court of Appeal sitting in Imo State has upheld the conviction and three-year jail sentence of former Commissioner for Transport, Prince Laseberry Okafor Anyanwu, over a N180 million fraud.

Anyanwu, who served under former Governor Rochas Okorocha, was earlier convicted by the Imo State High Court in March 2023 for diverting funds belonging to the Imo State Transport Company into a private firm, Oma Oil and Industries Limited, in which he held major interests.

He was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 26, 2020, on a four-count charge bordering on abuse of office and fraudulent diversion of public funds. During the trial, EFCC’s lawyer, Michael Ikechukwu Ani, presented three witnesses and tendered several documents admitted as evidence.

The charges detailed how, between November 6 and 10, 2017, Anyanwu facilitated the transfer of N100 million from the state transport company’s account to that of Oma Oil, where he was a shareholder and signatory. Another N80 million was transferred on January 31, 2018, from the Ministry of Transport to the same company.

The trial judge, Justice K. A. Lewanya, found him guilty on three of the four counts and sentenced him to one year in prison on each count, to run concurrently, without an option of fine. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the N180 million traced to the convict’s accounts to the Imo State Government.

Following the verdict, Anyanwu filed an appeal, asking the appellate court to overturn the judgment. But in a ruling delivered on July 30, 2025, a three-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Abubakar dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.

The Appeal Court held that the evidence clearly showed that Anyanwu used his office for personal gain by awarding contracts and transferring state funds to a company he had direct interests in, affirming the trial court’s decision in full.