ICPC Secures Seven-Year Jail Term for Ex-Health Ministry Official Over ₦29.9m Fraud

ICPC Secures Seven-Year Jail Term for Ex-Health Ministry Official Over ₦29.9m Fraud

By Raphael Ekpang

Abuja (Core Reporters) — 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, Williams Oluwole, who was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for issuing a false stock verification certificate that facilitated the payment of ₦29.9 million for pharmaceutical products that had not been supplied.

Oluwole was convicted on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, following his prosecution on a two-count charge bordering on knowingly furnishing false statements in the discharge of his official duties.

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

During the trial, the prosecution established that Oluwole issued Stock Verification Certificate No. CA 0329, which facilitated the payment of ₦29,996,120 to the 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 when 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 pharmaceutical products.

The offence was contrary to 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, Linus Awute, contrary to Section 25(1)(a) of the same Act.

Delivering judgment, Justice Halilu found Oluwole guilty and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on Count One. The court also imposed a fine of ₦100,000 on Count Two.

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

The ICPC prosecution team was led by N. J. Onwuka, Esq., alongside P. N. Emeka, Esq., while Oluwole was represented by Abubakar Adamu, Esq.

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